Strava is taking significant steps to protect its data from aggressive scraping by AI companies as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO). The company will now require users to authenticate to access certain data, which was previously available without logging in. Additionally, Strava is implementing a flat fee of $11.99 per month for developers to access its API, a change from the previous free tier system. This decision comes amid a surge in its developer community, which has increased from 185,000 to 241,000 members in just one year. CEO Michael Martin highlighted the risks posed by AI scraping, stating it could undermine the integrity of the public internet. Strava has also decided to retire some API endpoints to enhance data security. The company aims to balance the need for data protection with the growth of its developer ecosystem, contrasting its approach to that of Reddit, which has faced backlash for its API pricing model.