Your Running Map Is Yours — Privacy in Runner’s Rings
“I don’t want other people to see where I run.” We have heard this concern from runners. Routes and filled areas shown on your Runner’s Rings map are for you to view. Other users cannot see them unless you choose to share them. This article explains how Runner’s Rings thinks about running maps and privacy.
Runner’s Rings is an app for leaving the roads you have run on a map.
Because of that, there is something very important we need to talk about.
“I don’t want other people to see where I usually run.”
We have heard this concern from runners.
A running map can contain more than just workout data.
Your usual route.
A park you visit often.
Your commute run.
A road near your home.
These can be meaningful memories for a runner, but that does not mean they should automatically be visible to everyone.
That is why Runner’s Rings treats your running map as something for you to look back on and enjoy.
■ Your map is for you
When you log in to Runner’s Rings, your routes and the areas you have covered appear on your map.
The routes and filled areas shown there are visible to you.
Other users cannot see them unless you choose to share them yourself.
Runner’s Rings also has features such as Rings Ranking and Rings Territory, where runners can enjoy comparing records and connecting with others.
But those features are separate from publishing your personal running routes.
Your map is yours.
That is an important principle for Runner’s Rings.
■ Sharing is your choice
Runner’s Rings includes features that let you share maps and achievements.
But whether you share something is your decision.
You may want to keep a record of your running history without showing your everyday routes to other people.
That is completely understandable.
Recording something and publishing it are not the same thing.
In Runner’s Rings, sharing starts when you decide you want to share.
■ If people do not understand it, we need to explain it better
We recently made the privacy message on the main Runner’s Rings screen much more visible.
Directly below the map, it now says:
“This map is visible only to you.”
It also explains that routes and filled areas shown on the map cannot be seen by other users unless you choose to share them.
A privacy message already existed in the “Your Records” section.
But if runners still feel uncertain when they first see the map, then we need to make the message clearer.
So we decided to say it again, right next to the map where it matters most.
■ A place to safely keep your running rings
Runner’s Rings is not only about speed, rankings, or distance.
It is about the roads you have run.
The cities you have explored.
The years of effort that gradually build into your own running growth rings.
Being able to keep those memories with confidence matters more than adding another feature.
Runner’s Rings will continue to grow by listening to the runners who use it.
“This makes me uneasy.”
“This is hard to understand.”
“I would feel safer if it worked this way.”
Those comments are valuable parts of the development process.
The roads you run are yours.
Whether you share them is your choice.
We hope Runner’s Rings can be a place where you feel comfortable leaving the map of your running life.
Map the life you run.