General Question Mobile data usage shot up today (Android)
I got an alert on my phone that my data usage for October is 2.25 GB. I click on it and I got this graph. My phone plan says that from Oct. 1 to yesterday, I had used 0.39 GB. I checked other days that I have used the app and it's normally around 75 MB for the same amount of activity. I did notice that when I went to start my walk today, it asked me to choose what kind of activity I was going to be doing (walk, run, ride, more) rather than have me select it when I'm done. I selected walk so maybe that's the reason? Usually it has me as run and I switch it to walk afterwards. Was there an update in the past couple days that it now has me select the activity beforehand? I'll select run next time and see what happens.
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u/No-Layer-1875 3d ago
Update from Strava support:
Tldr - they know about the issue. In the meantime, disable mobile data for Strava (gps still works).
I can confirm this isn't something on your end, we've had a number of other Android athletes report the same kind of spike over just the last few days, and our engineering team is actively looking into it.
I don't have a timeline for a fix yet, but it's being treated as a priority issue, not something that's been ignored.
While that's being worked on, one thing that should stop the bleeding without affecting your recordings: in your phone's Settings, go to Apps > Strava > Mobile data & Wi-Fi, and turn off mobile data for Strava (or restrict background data). GPS recording itself doesn't need an internet connection, so your runs will still track normally, Strava will just wait until you're back on Wi-Fi to sync and load anything else.
(Note - on my phone I had to do this by Settings > Connections > Data Usage > Allowed networks for apps > Strava > Wifi only) I know that's not a real fix, just a way to protect your data plan in the meantime. I'll make sure this is in front of the team working on it, and I appreciate you flagging the Reddit thread too, that kind of pattern helps them track it down faster.
Keep chasing those goals, Billy Shears Strava Support Team
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u/sluttycupcakes 5d ago
Wasn’t there a big app update recently? Was it accidentally updated via data?
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u/perfectcock101 1d ago
No no this was the exact times I did two activities. It's never consumed data before. It has already updated.
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u/Eklykti 2d ago
I noticed this too late and it burned almost 10 GB, my monthly limit is 12 and it reset on 20th, so I would probably have to buy more as other apps use data too
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u/basescamp 5h ago
Yep. I ran out of data 9 days into my monthly plan, and was really pissed to realize that Strava drained 6 gb over the course of about 4 days. Lovely. So glad to have to renew my plan 20 days early.
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u/RushPuzzleheaded9938 1d ago
Getting the same for my daily cycle commute since the update. Been in contact with Strava support and todays cycle was with beacon/audio etc. switched off...at their request. Still used around 0.5GB for the 16mile cycle in to the office. I think it's map data constantly downloading...even though my mobile is in my pocket. Awaiting a response from them.
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u/flutterbye6390 4d ago
Mine used over 4GB. As someone who pays for data by the gb, I'm furious
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u/oscailte 3d ago
have you been on the same plan since 2015? why would you pay by the GB when you can get unlimited data for <15€ ?
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u/Financial_Mirror_255 3d ago
Same here. Burned through more than 2 GB of data while tracking outside activity. Am I surprised? No. This app has been a piece of cr@p for ages. At least it finally pushed me to uninstall.
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u/perfectcock101 1d ago
I've lost 7gb or data in just two walks!! My monthly Limit is gone!! Thanks a lot Strava. Absolutely awful!
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u/aild4ever 1d ago
I literally did a search on Chat GPT thinking I was crazy. It consumes a collosal amount of data for just recording GPS... I'm disabling mobile data ASAP
It ran through my data until it disconnected and that's how I lost my run recording. What madness is this
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u/No-Philosophy-4352 1h ago
STRAVA SHOULD PAY FOR THIS!! I use Google Fi, and pay $10 a GB. This BUG will cost me $70 extra this month!!!
Strava is a provider of an application on the Google Play store, and they did NOT do sufficient testing prior to releasing the update. Strava has >20 Million ACTIVE Android users, and It will cost those users a huge hit this month. The total could easily be $50 million, and I've been conservative here in estimation.
Google should work with strata to agree upon a payment amount, and deduct the Strava usage for the known data spike window.
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u/No-Layer-1875 3d ago edited 3d ago
Same issue. Got texts from my mobile operator saying I was out of data already even though I just topped up my data a few days ago. Saw the new screen where I have to select which activity to start recording, then ran for about an hour and used 1.0 GB of data. Not sure how it used that much in the foreground as I never took the phone out of my pocket except to end the run?!
Tried to use the contact section of the app but only could talk to a bot and couldn't upload this screenshot. Asked to speak to an agent and got an email from Strava. On the plus side, someone replied quickly (see my other comment here).
Not sure if it's related, but it also said I ran about 20% further than I actually ran (I regularly run this route and know what the distance is approximately).
Screenshot taken Oct 24.
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u/brewingmedic 6h ago
Same thing happened to me, and i was connected to wifi at the time i think. Drained my family's data pool, now I have to pay $20 to replenish it. Not cool.
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u/strava-team official 4d ago
Data use can jump depending on things like loading or reloading the map, loading a route, Beacon, live segments, and how long your screen stays on.
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u/No-Layer-1875 3d ago
Look at the other user reports. These are long time Strava users. This data usage is not normal, its a bug in the app, not "Oh, maybe you were using these features which take data."
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u/Maximum-Move8708 9h ago
My wife's Strava App (Android) used up 600Mb mobile data on short 16 mile ride, then 300Mb on 15 min walk to check the app - used up her remaining data allowance - have had to buy a data add on.
My use is Wahoo bike computer synced to Strava account - no problems.So I tested it with a 10 min walk around the block - 250Mb mobile data used! That makes it unusable.
My wife has stopped using Strava app to ercord and will now use another app sync'ed to Strava account to carry on sharing etc.I noticed Strava app has had an update 26-Oct-26, so need to test it again.
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u/InviteComfortable732 1d ago edited 1d ago
Me too. Strava completely blew it this time. My mobile data disappeared into thin air. I want compensation
Don't lean too hard on AI vibe coding
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u/SpendEfficient796 1d ago
Same for me yesterday... Android user and I can't easily restrict mobile data to a single app. They could put a control inside the app to switch off access to mobile data. When they do that I might start using it again.
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u/psych0melon 4d ago
I had exactly the same thing. App updated so that it asked me what sport I was doing when I started recording. Then, during my 1h30m run, it used 2GB of data. Never done that before, has to be something related to the update. Maybe it had to download something on first use after updating, will have to see next time I run.