Activity tracking platform and community Wrong closes Fatmapthe European 3D mapping platform it acquired last January.
In an email sent to users this week, accompanied by a online support pageFatmap said its website and app will be retired from October 1, 2024, and users will have the option to transfer their Fatmap runs to Strava until then.
While the company said it will “bring Fatmap’s 3D mapping and other features to Strava,” digging into the details reveals that a lot will be left out in traffic.
“Google Maps for the countryside”
At its core, Fatmap looks like Google Maps for the great outdoors: Serves a high-resolution 3D map platform with detailed routes for skiers, hikers, cyclists and anyone else. The company was founded in the UK in 2013, although its core team is spread across hubs in Europe, including Germany and Lithuania.
It’s no surprise to see Strava pulling the plug on Fatmap. Strava had said at the time of the deal that while the companies’ products would initially remain separate, it would integrate them more closely and decide whether Fatmap would live on as a standalone product.
Strava has already introduced some of Fatmap’s features, including a premium feature called Flyover that provides an aerial, 3D video recap of your route.
However, maintaining two separate products is more resource intensive than maintaining one. And with a new CEO joining in January, Strava has doubled down on making its core product stickier and addressing key issues raised by the community, such as leaderboard cheating and a lack of dark mode.
Strava has emphasized that it will port many of Fatmap’s features to its own app as part of its premium subscription, but as with such things, the devil is very much in the details.
Strava says it’s incorporating Fatmap’s 3D satellite maps in addition to the regular 3D maps and 3D images it’s already moved. However, while users will be able to move their routes around in Strava, this will only include elements such as the route title, description and the ‘line’ that marks the route.
Relevant data such as e.g points are awarded it cannot be moved, which would probably make it difficult to estimate the steepness of a hill. Additionally, Fatmap users will not be able to transfer their photos, although they will be able to download this data.
Other features of Fatmap like adventures, guides and waypoints cannot be transferred to Strava and users will have the option to download this data using Fatmap data extraction tool.
Such omissions will render Fatmap useless for those using it to navigate remote terrain or trying to figure out whether to attempt a particular ski slope.
Fatmap says it will delete users’ data after October 1 if they haven’t taken any action on their account before that date. Users can take matters into their own hands now and manually delete their data.
The full text of Fatmap’s email notification is as follows:
Hello,
Thank you for being a dedicated member of the FATMAP community. Since we launched FATMAP 10 years ago, your outdoor adventures and expeditions have made FATMAP the most powerful 3D map in the world.
FATMAP and Strava joined forces in January 2023 to make outdoor experiences more accessible. In the coming months, we’ll bring FATMAP’s 3D mapping and other features to Strava to create the world’s best platform for planning, navigating and sharing outdoor adventures with the largest global community of active people.
As we move towards this shared mission, we will retire the FATMAP app and website on October 1, 2024. Until then, you will be able to use all the FATMAP features you currently enjoy. After October 1, the FATMAP app and website will no longer be available.
If you would like to move your FATMAP routes to Strava or receive a copy of your FATMAP adventures, routes, waypoints, photos and guides, please follow the steps outlined here before October 1st. After this date, your data will be permanently deleted.
You can join Strava for free or download the app on the App Store or Google Play. Once you’ve migrated your FATMAP runs to Strava, they’ll be available as Saved Runs in your Profile on the mobile app and Dashboard on the Strava website. When you move your FATMAP runs to Strava, you consent to your data being transferred from FATMAP to Strava, which is based in the US. For more information about your rights regarding your personal data at FATMAP, learn more here.
Most mapping features in Strava, including route creation, route discovery, offline downloads, flight and personal heatmaps, require a Strava subscription. If you’re not currently a Strava subscriber, redeem a 60-day free trial until December 31, 2024. You can cancel your subscription at any time during the trial and continue using Strava for free when your trial ends.
We would like to thank you once again for the role you have played in the FATMAP community. We look forward to seeing more of your Strava adventures in the future!
see you out there
FATMAP Group
Fatmap email to users
