GPS art FAQ: distances, watches, and how it works
If your question isn't here, the How to make GPS art (a.k.a. Strava art): the full guide。
Is Doodle GO free?
Yes, and there's nothing to install — it runs in the browser. Picking a shape, placing it and snapping it to streets need no account at all; only exporting a GPX, saving a route, or making a share card require signing up.
Can I make Strava art with this?
Yes — Strava art and GPS art are the same thing, just named after where the drawing usually gets seen. Doodle GO is not affiliated with Strava: it gives you a GPX route file, you run that route with your watch or phone, and the finished activity syncs to Strava (or Garmin Connect, or whatever you already use) exactly like any other run.
What's the minimum distance for a GPS art route?
Around 5 km (3 miles) in practice, and only for simple shapes. City blocks run roughly 100–200 m (about 110–220 yards), and every corner of your drawing needs at least a block to be drawn in — a short route simply doesn't have enough corners to spare, so the shape turns to mush. Detailed shapes, like an animal with facial features, usually need 10 km (6 miles) or more.
Why doesn't the route look like my drawing?
Because the drawing's detail is finer than the local city block, so the street network can't render that turn. The most effective fix is increasing the target distance: a bigger shape spaces every detail further apart. After that, try rotating the shape so its outline lines up with the street grid, turning on gridify, or simplifying with the detail slider. A feasibility check runs before snapping and hands you a suggested set of settings when the shape won't fit.
Why is the real distance longer than the target I set?
Roads are always longer than straight lines. The shape is rescaled and re-snapped until the real distance lands within 8% of your target, so the final number gets close but rarely exact. Fine mode uses more waypoints and therefore detours more, so it overshoots the most.
Can I use my own photo?
Yes. Photos get AI background removal in the browser to isolate the subject before tracing, and the photo is never uploaded anywhere. That said, photos usually work less well than clean line art or a silhouette — the route is one continuous line, and a busy photo traces into an outline nobody can run.
Can I write words?
You can write anything doable in one stroke. Switch off "close the loop" on the drawing pad and you get an open route, which suits joined-up writing like "2026". Anything needing separate strokes — most letters with dots, like i and j — won't work, because the model is a single continuous stroke.
How do I get the route into my Garmin?
Export the GPX, import it in Garmin Connect as a Course, then send it to the watch and start navigation with your run. Coros, Suunto and Polar all have route import in their companion apps too. Apple Watch's built-in Workout app cannot import GPX routes, so you'll need a third-party app that supports route navigation.
Does it avoid main roads?
Yes, and it's on by default. "Prefer back lanes" moves the route's waypoints onto residential streets and footpaths, and excludes anything tagged as a bridge, tunnel or elevated layer — which is what an elevated expressway looks like in the map data. The result is reported as a main-road percentage. It's best-effort, not a guarantee: where an area genuinely only has big roads, the waypoints stay put.
Does it show elevation gain?
Yes. Once a route exists, elevation is sampled along it from a 90 m Copernicus digital elevation model to give total ascent and maximum gradient, with a warning when anything exceeds 8%. It's computed after the route, doesn't change it, and isn't stored with a saved route.
Do you keep the images I upload?
No. All image processing, including AI background removal for photos, happens inside your browser and the image never leaves your device. The only things stored on the server are route data you explicitly save, and the share card image if you choose to publish a public link.
Does sharing a route reveal where I live?
A shared card and public page do show where the route is, so sharing one that starts at your front door effectively publishes your neighbourhood. If you want to share, start the route from a nearby park or station instead. Public links can be revoked at any time from your saved routes.
Which languages are supported?
Chinese, English and Japanese. The interface language defaults to where you are rather than what your browser reads — Taiwan gets Chinese, Japan gets Japanese, everywhere else gets English — and the switch in the top right changes it without reloading, so a route you're halfway through drawing survives.