# Private Segments
Canonical HTML: https://effortsignal.com/features/private-segments/
Last content update: 2026-09-10
Save a familiar climb or stretch of road from one recording, then compare your times and recorded effort whenever you pass it again. Private Segments brings those passages together from your own activity history.
Open **Private Segments** in the web app and choose a saved section. Its map establishes exactly which part of the route you are comparing. The chart below it gives each recognised passage a point in time, with your personal record as a reference.
[](/marketing/product/catalog-private-segments-desktop.png)
This saved section covers 4.24 km of the upper Stelvio road. Each point represents one of eight recognised passages; the dashed line marks the fastest elapsed time, 23:42. The latest passage also holds that record.Enlarge the segment map and time chart
The section can be a climb within a long ride, a stretch of a regular run, or another part of an activity with usable GPS. Comparisons stay within the same sport and your own account. There is no public leaderboard or ranking against other athletes.
Choose the section you want to come back to
Start in a recorded activity's **Intervals** list. Choose a range whose start and end describe the section, then open **More actions → Save as segment**. You can use an existing interval or [create a range with precise boundaries](/features/interval-analysis/#editing) first.
[](/marketing/product/catalog-segment-save-desktop.png)
The route preview comes from the selected interval. Give it a recognisable name and choose which travel directions should count. For this climb, Same direction keeps the comparison to passages travelling the way the original interval did. The preview shows the interval's recorded distance; the saved section's length is measured from its GPS route.Enlarge the segment-saving form
**Same direction** matches the original travel direction. **Both directions** also admits reverse passages, useful when you want to keep both legs of an out-and-back section. The history identifies the direction of each passage so you can distinguish them.
The selected section needs at least **3 usable GPS points**, at least **100 m** of route and distinct endpoints. Power and heart-rate sensors are not required to recognise the road section; they add measurements to the comparison when present. Free includes **3 tracked segments**; Pro permits more.
Let the route determine which passages count
After saving, EffortSignal searches the GPS activities already in your history. New imports are checked too. It compares the route's shape and travel direction: one nearby GPS point, or a road that merely crosses the section, is not enough.
A missing GPS track cannot produce a passage. A noisy or incomplete recording may fail to match, and a reverse passage will not qualify under **Same direction**. Up to **50 passages per activity** are considered, allowing a repeated section to appear more than once in a session.
Check the matching status before treating an empty history as a finished result. Historical matching can still be running; **Matches are current** means the current search has caught up. **Rebuild matches** starts another search of the available history. It cannot repair missing route data.
Read the effort behind a time
The **Performance History** table connects every passage to its activity. Sort by **Newest** to review recent efforts, **Oldest** to start at the beginning, or **Fastest** to inspect your quickest times. The **vs previous** and **vs PR** columns show the time differences from your previous passage and personal record.
[](/marketing/product/catalog-segment-history-desktop.png)
The 8 September passage is marked PR at 23:42, with 246 W and 159 bpm recorded for that section. In this example, the faster climb also has higher power than the previous passage. Open the activity name to inspect the effort in the context of the whole session.Enlarge the passage history
The table keeps **Elapsed** and **Timer** durations separate. Depending on the recording, it also shows power, heart rate, pace or speed, and work. **WP** is [Weighted Power](/learn/weighted-power/), which describes variable power differently from an ordinary average. Missing measurements remain unavailable; route recognition does not create sensor data.
**Match** describes the route match. It is not a performance score. A high match percentage tells you about the recognised passage, while the time and sensor measurements describe the effort.
Keep a small collection of useful sections
Save places you expect to revisit, then return to **Private Segments** when you want to review their history. **Edit** lets you change a segment's name or direction rule; changing direction starts matching again under the new rule. Tracking more than the Free allowance of three segments is a **Pro** capability. Current access is explained below and on the [pricing page](/pricing/).
[](/marketing/product/catalog-segment-library-desktop.png)
Three saved sections of the Stelvio climb, together in Private Segments. Search by name, filter by sport or change the order, then open a section to see its map and passage history.Enlarge the segment collection
For a one-off search from an interval, use [Find similar intervals](/features/interval-analysis/#similar-intervals). A private segment keeps a named place and its passage history available for return visits. For a hand-picked comparison of whole sessions, use [Activity Comparison](/features/activity-comparison/).
All Pro features are free through January 31, 2027. No credit card or automatic charges. After Early Access, keep using Free or choose Pro. [See Free and Pro plans](/pricing/).
