We Removed Ranking Opt-In: Your Rank Is Visible, But You Choose What to Share
Rings Ranking in Runner’s Rings recently received a major redesign. Instead of opting in or out of the ranking itself, runners now keep their rank based on saved activities while choosing what personal information to share. Your public ranking name can be different from your account name, and distance or EXPLORE details can stay private. The goal is to keep rankings fun without forcing runners to reveal more than they want.
We recently made a major change to Rings Ranking in Runner’s Rings.
Previously, the system was based on opting in:
“You join the ranking only if you turn participation ON.”
But while building it, we started wondering if that was really necessary.
■ Your rank naturally comes from your running history
Runner’s Rings already has your saved running activities.
From those records, we can calculate rankings such as:
DISTANCE — annual ranking
EXPLORE — ranking based on explored regions
NATIONS — country-based ranking
So we asked a simple question:
Do runners really need to opt in just to have a rank?
That led us to redesign the system.
■ Now the controls are about sharing, not participation
In the current Rings Ranking system, your rank itself is shown.
What you choose to share is up to you.
You can decide whether to show:
your name
your annual distance
your EXPLORE region total
your country flag
your EXPLORE region names
Each setting is controlled separately.
■ Your ranking name can be different from your account name
This is an important point.
Your Runner’s Rings account name and your public ranking name do not have to match.
You do not need to use your real name.
You can use:
your social media name
your running nickname
or any public name you prefer.
If you choose not to display a name, you simply appear as “Runner.”
■ Some of the top runners are currently a mystery
This has actually created an interesting effect.
Right now, some runners near the top of the ranking are not sharing their name or distance.
You can see:
1st place.
2nd place.
3rd place.
But not how far they actually ran.
And naturally, you start wondering:
“How much has this person actually run?”
That mystery is surprisingly fun.
Sometimes not showing everything makes the ranking more interesting.
■ If you want to share, you can
Of course, runners who want to show their annual distance can do so.
The same goes for EXPLORE totals and region names.
Others may prefer to enjoy their rank without sharing much personal information.
Both styles are welcome.
■ DISTANCE
DISTANCE shows your annual rank.
Your annual distance appears only if you allow it to be public.
So within the same ranking, one runner may show “1,850 km,” while another may show only their rank.
■ EXPLORE
EXPLORE ranks runners by the countries and regions they have actually run in.
Region totals and region names have separate privacy controls.
For example, you can choose to show how many regions you explored without revealing which ones.
■ NATIONS
NATIONS works differently.
This is a country-level ranking.
Instead of focusing on individual runners, it shows the combined distance and participant count for each country.
As more runners join from around the world, it could become fun to see which countries are logging the most running.
■ Badges were also added
Rankings naturally highlight the runners at the top.
So we also added badges to celebrate other kinds of progress.
🌱 First Loop
Save a running activity
🔥 Steady Runner
Record runs across at least three different months
📷 Photo Contributor
Submit an approved photo
The goal is to recognize not only speed and distance, but also consistency, participation, and the act of documenting your running journey.
■ It is not “show everything” or “hide everything”
One of the most important ideas behind this redesign is flexibility.
Show your name.
Hide your distance.
Show your flag.
Hide your region names.
That is possible.
Runner’s Rings handles location-based running data, so runners should be able to control what they reveal.
■ Ranking does not have to mean only competition
The word “ranking” often sounds like:
winning
losing
being number one
But we want Rings Ranking to feel lighter than that.
You might think:
“That runner is always near the top.”
“I wonder how far they actually run.”
“That country is running a lot this year.”
“That runner has the Photo Contributor badge.”
The ranking can become another way to notice and connect with runners around the world.
■ We changed the specification many times with Chappy
This design was not decided from the beginning.
We built it.
Looked at it.
Felt something was not quite right.
Then changed it again.
“Do we really need ranking opt-in?”
“Should distance always be public?”
“Does the ranking name have to match the account name?”
I discussed these questions many times with Chappy, my AI development partner.
Eventually, we arrived at the current idea:
keep the rank visible
let each runner control what they share
■ It may change again
Runner’s Rings is still being developed.
If we discover a better approach through actual use, the ranking may evolve again.
But for now,
“Your rank is visible, but you decide what to share”
feels much closer to the kind of ranking Runner’s Rings should have.
Runner’s Rings – Rings Journal
Not just how far you run.
You also choose how your journey is seen.