diff --git a/assets/src/models/detoursList.ts b/assets/src/models/detoursList.ts
index b15359de0..e5333f423 100644
--- a/assets/src/models/detoursList.ts
+++ b/assets/src/models/detoursList.ts
@@ -60,10 +60,24 @@ export interface GroupedSimpleDetours {
   past: SimpleDetour[]
 }
 
+const MyNormalizedType = type({
+  my_id: detourId,
+  my_route: string(),
+  my_via_variant: string(),
+  my_direction: string(),
+  my_name: string(),
+  my_intersection: string(),
+  my_updated_at: number(),
+  my_activated_at: coerce(date(), string(), (dateStr) => new Date(dateStr)),
+  my_estimated_duration: string(),
+})
+
+type MyNormalizedType = Infer<typeof MyNormalizedType>
+
 export const GroupedDetoursData = type({
-  active: array(ActivatedDetourData),
-  draft: array(SimpleDetourData),
-  past: array(SimpleDetourData),
+  active: array(MyNormalizedType),
+  draft: array(MyNormalizedType),
+  past: array(MyNormalizedType),
 })
 
 export type GroupedDetoursData = Infer<typeof GroupedDetoursData>
@@ -72,8 +86,50 @@ export const groupedDetoursFromData = (
   groupedDetours: GroupedDetoursData
 ): GroupedSimpleDetours => ({
   active: groupedDetours.active
+    .map(fromNormalizedToActivatedData)
     .map(simpleDetourFromActivatedData)
     .sort((a, b) => b.activatedAt.getTime() - a.activatedAt.getTime()),
-  draft: groupedDetours.draft.map((detour) => simpleDetourFromData(detour)),
-  past: groupedDetours.past.map((detour) => simpleDetourFromData(detour)),
+  draft: groupedDetours.draft.map(fromNormalizedToSimple).map((detour) => simpleDetourFromData(detour)),
+  past: groupedDetours.past.map(fromNormalizedToSimple).map((detour) => simpleDetourFromData(detour)),
+})
+
+const fromNormalizedToSimple = ({
+  my_id,
+  my_route,
+  my_via_variant,
+  my_direction,
+  my_name,
+  my_intersection,
+  my_updated_at,
+}: MyNormalizedType): SimpleDetourData => ({
+  id: my_id,
+  route: my_route,
+  via_variant: my_via_variant,
+  direction: my_direction,
+  name: my_name,
+  intersection: my_intersection,
+  updated_at: my_updated_at
+})
+
+const fromNormalizedToActivatedData = ({
+  my_id,
+  my_route,
+  my_via_variant,
+  my_direction,
+  my_name,
+  my_intersection,
+  my_updated_at,
+  my_activated_at,
+  my_estimated_duration }: MyNormalizedType): ActivatedDetourData => ({
+  activated_at: my_activated_at,
+  estimated_duration: my_estimated_duration,
+  details: {
+    id: my_id,
+    route: my_route,
+    via_variant: my_via_variant,
+    direction: my_direction,
+    name: my_name,
+    intersection: my_intersection,
+    updated_at: my_updated_at
+  }
 })
diff --git a/lib/skate/detours/detours.ex b/lib/skate/detours/detours.ex
index 5d9c4922b..57909b2cf 100644
--- a/lib/skate/detours/detours.ex
+++ b/lib/skate/detours/detours.ex
@@ -445,4 +445,137 @@ defmodule Skate.Detours.Detours do
     |> DateTime.from_naive!("Etc/UTC")
     |> DateTime.to_unix()
   end
+
+  @spec normalize_from_frontend(map(), any()) :: %{
+          :author_id => binary(),
+          :state => map(),
+          optional(:activated_at) => any(),
+          optional(:deactivated_at) => any(),
+          optional(:id) => any(),
+          optional(:status) => :active | :draft | :past
+        }
+  def normalize_from_frontend(params, author_id) do
+    allowed_params = Map.take(params, ["id", "state", "activated_at", "deactivated_at"])
+
+    normalized_params =
+      Map.merge(
+        %{"id" => nil, "state" => nil, "activated_at" => nil, "deactivated_at" => nil},
+        allowed_params
+      )
+
+    do_normalize_from_frontend(normalized_params, author_id)
+  end
+
+  # create
+  defp do_normalize_from_frontend(%{"id" => nil, "state" => state}, author_id) do
+    %{
+      state: state,
+      author_id: author_id,
+      status: :draft
+    }
+  end
+
+  # update
+  defp do_normalize_from_frontend(
+         %{"id" => id, "state" => state, "activated_at" => nil},
+         author_id
+       ) do
+    %{
+      id: id,
+      state: state,
+      author_id: author_id
+    }
+  end
+
+  # activate
+  defp do_normalize_from_frontend(
+         %{"id" => id, "state" => state, "activated_at" => activated_at, "deactivated_at" => nil},
+         author_id
+       )
+       when not is_nil(activated_at) do
+    %{
+      id: id,
+      state: state,
+      author_id: author_id,
+      activated_at: activated_at,
+      status: :active
+    }
+  end
+
+  # de-activate
+  defp do_normalize_from_frontend(
+         %{"id" => id, "state" => state, "deactivated_at" => deactivated_at},
+         author_id
+       )
+       when not is_nil(deactivated_at) do
+    %{
+      id: id,
+      state: state,
+      author_id: author_id,
+      deactivated_at: deactivated_at,
+      status: :past
+    }
+  end
+
+  @spec normalize_from_backend(
+          Skate.Detours.Detour.WithState.t()
+          | Skate.Detours.Detour.Detailed.t()
+          | %{
+              active: [Skate.Detours.Detour.Detailed.t()],
+              draft: [Skate.Detours.Detour.Detailed.t()],
+              past: [Skate.Detours.Detour.Detailed.t()]
+            }
+        ) :: %{
+          my_activated_at: nil,
+          my_direction: nil,
+          my_estimated_duration: nil,
+          my_id: nil,
+          my_intersection: nil,
+          my_name: nil,
+          my_route: nil,
+          my_updated_at: nil,
+          my_via_variant: nil
+        }
+  def normalize_from_backend(%Skate.Detours.Detour.WithState{} = _detour) do
+    # unpack data into decided upon interface from current struct type
+    %{
+      my_id: nil,
+      my_route: nil,
+      my_via_variant: nil,
+      my_direction: nil,
+      my_name: nil,
+      my_intersection: nil,
+      my_updated_at: nil,
+      my_activated_at: nil,
+      my_estimated_duration: nil
+    }
+  end
+
+  def normalize_from_backend(%{active: active, draft: draft, past: past}) do
+    %{
+      active: normalize_from_backend(active),
+      draft: normalize_from_backend(draft),
+      past: normalize_from_backend(past)
+    }
+  end
+
+  def normalize_from_backend(nil), do: nil
+
+  def normalize_from_backend([%Skate.Detours.Detour.Detailed{} | _] = detours),
+    do: Enum.map(detours, &normalize_from_backend/1)
+
+  def normalize_from_backend(%Skate.Detours.Detour.Detailed{} = _detour) do
+    # unpack data into decided upon interface from current struct type
+    %{
+      my_id: nil,
+      my_route: nil,
+      my_via_variant: nil,
+      my_direction: nil,
+      my_name: nil,
+      my_intersection: nil,
+      my_updated_at: nil,
+      my_activated_at: nil,
+      my_estimated_duration: nil
+    }
+  end
 end
diff --git a/lib/skate_web/controllers/detours_controller.ex b/lib/skate_web/controllers/detours_controller.ex
index f9a784247..8b35d6df3 100644
--- a/lib/skate_web/controllers/detours_controller.ex
+++ b/lib/skate_web/controllers/detours_controller.ex
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ defmodule SkateWeb.DetoursController do
   def update_snapshot(conn, %{"snapshot" => snapshot}) do
     %{id: user_id} = AuthManager.Plug.current_resource(conn)
 
+    # normalized_request = Detours.normalize_from_frontend(snapshot, user_id)
+    # {:ok, %{id: returned_uuid}} = Detours.upsert(normalized_request)
+
     {:ok, %Skate.Detours.Db.Detour{id: returned_uuid}} =
       Detours.upsert_from_snapshot(user_id, snapshot)
 
@@ -24,6 +27,9 @@ defmodule SkateWeb.DetoursController do
   def detour(conn, %{"detour_id" => detour_id}) do
     detour = Detours.get_detour_with_state!(detour_id)
 
+    # normalized_detour = Detours.normalize_from_backend(detour)
+    # json(conn, %{data: normalized_detour})
+
     json(conn, %{data: detour})
   end
 
@@ -33,6 +39,9 @@ defmodule SkateWeb.DetoursController do
 
     detours = Detours.grouped_detours(user_id)
 
+    # normalized_detours = Enum.map(detours, &Detours.normalize_from_backend/1)
+    # json(conn, %{data: normalized_detours})
+
     json(conn, %{data: detours})
   end