Strava brings Beacon safety feature to Garmin

Athlete social network Strava has announced the integration of its new Beacon safety feature with Garmin LiveTrack. 

Recently launched for iPhone and Android, Beacon allows Strava athletes to share their real-time location with select safety contacts.

Strava Premium members who use the Garmin Edge 520, Edge 820, Edge 1000, Edge Explore 820, Forerunner 230, Forerunner 235, Forerunner 630, Forerunner 735XT, and Fenix 3 may set up Beacon with Garmin’s automatic LiveTrack sessions on Garmin Connect Mobile.

Using Beacon, athletes can select up to three safety contacts, who receive a text message with a unique URL when the athlete begins an activity. Safety contacts can click the URL to track the athlete on a map in real-time, as well as view the athlete’s remaining battery power. Safety contacts do not need a Strava account to view real-time information. Beacon also saves contact settings, allowing athletes to use Beacon during future activities with one tap.

“We received a lot of positive feedback when we introduced Beacon this summer,” says Aaron Forth, chief product officer. “We also had lots of athletes say they wanted to use Beacon with their Garmin devices. We’re happy to see that Beacon has become so valuable so quickly, and excited to extend Beacon’s safety benefits to Garmin athletes.”

“Garmin and Strava have a great track record of working together to enhance the athlete experience,” said David Lorsch, vice president of business development at Strava. “We are excited to continue our partnership by working with Garmin to bring our Beacon safety feature to our mutual customers.”

Beacon is available now for Strava Premium members with Strava v4.22.00 or later. Download Strava for iOS or Android and upgrade to Strava Premium to access additional Premium features such as Live Segments. To learn more about Strava, visit here.