Garmin locks down API as UK AI coaching app closes overnight

App closes in days as Garmin rewrites the rules

A popular UK artificial intelligence coaching app has shut down after Garmin quietly updated the terms governing access to its Connect API, cutting off the data pipeline that powered the service. Intervals Pro, which says it had 3,600 athletes on its books, pulled the plug on 12 October 2026 — just three days after the wider training community learned a policy change was imminent.

The app's owner, Max Revitt, made no secret of why he closed rather than wait. Speaking to The 5k Runner, he said:

"Intervals.pro is closing because Garmin are going to restrict downstream data, just as Strava have done. That's not a battle I'm willing to fight."

Revitt moved quickly to protect users. Billing stopped immediately, nobody was charged again, and unused prepaid time was refunded automatically. Users had until 19 October to sign in and download their conversation history from the app's settings. Workouts already sitting on athletes' Intervals.icu calendars remain there.

What Garmin's new terms actually say

The change centres on a practice known as "onward sharing." Garmin's revised developer terms explicitly prohibit developers from forwarding data obtained via the Garmin Connect API through their own interfaces to other services. In plain language: a platform like Intervals.icu can pull your workout data from Garmin, but — under the new rules — it cannot then pass that data along to a third-party app like Intervals Pro.

David Tinker, the developer behind Intervals.icu, flagged the issue in a forum post on 9 October 2026. He noted that the new conditions had appeared in Garmin's developer portal without advance notice, giving no time for platforms or their users to prepare. Tinker says he expects Intervals.icu will have to block Garmin data from its own API, though discussions with Garmin are still ongoing and nothing has been formally finalised.

The practical consequences extend well beyond Intervals Pro. Rides, heart rate variability readings, sleep data and resting heart rate reach a range of coaching and analytics apps through Intervals.icu, and for most athletes that data originates from a Garmin device. If a block lands without a resolution, new Garmin rides simply stop arriving and planned sessions are flagged as missed.

Garmin reopens — but on its own terms

The API story has been running since at least March 2026, when Garmin stopped accepting new applications to its Connect Developer Programme after a flood of AI-built apps overwhelmed the review process. By spring, the application form had been replaced with an "Under Construction" notice. When one developer escalated in May 2026, Garmin said it was redesigning the programme but could not say when processing would resume. Its public FAQ — which states applications are normally confirmed within two business days — was never updated to reflect any of this.

On 21 October 2026, Garmin reopened with three new tiers: Personal, Starter, and Enterprise. The Personal tier is genuinely new and useful — it lets an individual generate an API key to their own data directly in Garmin Connect settings, with no application required. Available data includes activity summaries, the original FIT file for any activity, and health summaries. However, proprietary fields including VO2 max estimates, recovery time, and performance condition are stripped from API-delivered files. Those values remain in files downloaded manually. Routes and workout-push functionality are not included in the Personal tier.

Starter is free for small user counts; Enterprise comes with negotiated pricing. Services that grow past 1,000 users will start paying Garmin from April 2027.

A bigger picture: Garmin's tightening grip

The timing invites scrutiny. On 22 July 2026, Garmin acquired TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic, bringing 120 combined staff into its global workforce. Garmin Co-COO Brad Trenkle described the move as expanding "access to more authentic coaching experiences." Nothing formally links the new API terms to that purchase, but restricting how rival coaching platforms pass on Garmin data does raise obvious questions about competitive motivation.

Garmin now owns Tacx (smart trainers), Firstbeat (the physiology engine behind most of its health metrics), MYLAPS (race timing), and TrainingPeaks (coaching and training-plan software). That is a considerable end-to-end position in endurance sport.

The tension with third-party platforms is not entirely new. In September 2025, Strava filed a lawsuit — Strava, Inc. v. Garmin Ltd. — in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, alleging patent infringement related to GPS segments and global heatmaps. The case was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice by Strava on 21 October 2025, but the underlying friction over developer guidelines, including a Garmin requirement that its logo appear on every activity post and graph, was a stated factor in the dispute.

What athletes should do now

• Check whether any coaching or analytics app you use pulls data through Intervals.icu or another intermediary platform — if it does, its data supply may be at risk.
• Verify that your preferred third-party app holds direct, Garmin-approved API access, not just an indirect connection via another platform.
• Consider setting up manual FIT file downloads as a backup — it is less convenient, but it keeps full data including proprietary metrics that the API no longer delivers.
• If you use Intervals.icu itself, the platform is not currently blocked from receiving your Garmin data; the risk is to apps that sit one step further downstream.

Intervals.icu and Garmin are still in talks. Until those discussions conclude, the situation remains fluid — and for independent coaching app developers across the UK, the clock is ticking.