Your AllTrails profile shows where you park your car, where you camp, and which remote trails you hike alone. Public by default. A stalker can see exactly where you'll be, how far from help, and where your unattended car is parked. AllTrails shows you the way to the trailhead. It also shows everyone else. A private equity firm bought your hiking routes for $150 million. Every trailhead where you park your car, every remote campsite, every morning jog that starts at your front door — now owned by investors who paid for the data, not the app.
What they claim: AllTrails describes itself as helping people explore the outdoors safely
What we found: AllTrails collects precise GPS routes of users hiking, often in remote locations. Routes are public by default, showing exact trailhead parking locations (i.e. users' cars), campsite locations, and off-trail routes. Researchers demonstrated that public AllTrails profiles reveal home addresses (through "walks from home" activities), daily routines, and remote locations where users are alone and unreachable. AllTrails was acquired by private equity in 2023.
What they claim: AllTrails describes route data as helping people discover trails safely
What we found: AllTrails was acquired by Permira (private equity) for over $150 million in 2023. The acquisition puts millions of users' GPS route data — including home addresses derivable from "walks from home" — under PE ownership. Private equity firms optimise for returns, not privacy. The dataset of precise outdoor movements, remote hiking locations, and daily routines is now a financial asset.