http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-39476493

“Bike thieves are targeting users of cycling apps, North Wales Police has warned.
Twelve high value bikes were stolen from sheds and garages in Abergele over two weeks.
Police advised app users to tighten their private settings and ensure their home address settings were hidden.
Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to call 101.”

How to set a privacy zone

https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000173384

Or they just followed you home, saw you unloading your car etc etc etc

Or they just followed you home, saw you unloading your car etc etc etc

12 times in 2 weeks?? 😕

Do you think bike thieves only work part time? That’s less than one theft per day.

It’s only a small place! 🙂

12 times in 2 weeks??

One a day with Sunday off…

But yep, Strava is a high-end bike thief’s dream, heatmaps tell them which routes/areas to stake out on a weekend, flybys let them track riders to their doors (or at least the right neighbourhood) without actually having to follow them all the way…

How to set a privacy zone

And criminals can’t read an electoral roll, I presume?

How many John Smiths are registered to vote within the privacy zone? Why not add it as an app to link 😉 . Lock them properly, use a false name on Strava/FB, change your name etc…

There is a lot of presumption that bike thieves are intelligent! The ones I dealt with in the police weren’t that savvy. Quick nick off the top of a car at a service station, garage or unlocked back patio. They don’t go staking out Strava .. a few high end will but there aren’t many out there.

A bit like witness intimidation it is so rare but people think it’s a common thing.

This is pretty big in area of the US so imagine it’s onlt a matter of time before it catches on more over here. Instagram is far worse if you leave on geo tagging of photos you upload.

Post photos of you bikes at your house. Use geo tagging to view location of your house. Keep keeping your Instagram account for updates. Post photos of being at a bar wirh your mates. Thieves see account update and promptly break into your property and steal bikes.

Sounds like scare mongering but I said, it’s happening a lot in the US. Disable geo tagging of photos taken but your digital device will go a long way to help with regards to Instagram.

Never ever start GPS from home.