US Military Disables Ad Trackers to Protect Troops from Location Tracking
What Happened
The US military has disabled advertising trackers, also known as advertising IDs, on a range of military phones and computers after reports that commercially available location data may have been used to track and target American forces in the Middle East. The Air Force, Army, Navy, and US Special Operations Command have all taken steps to restrict these identifiers on military devices.
Key Takeaways
The move highlights growing concerns that data collected by apps and sold through data brokers can expose the locations of military personnel. The Pentagon is also considering stricter restrictions on smartphone use by deployed troops, amid fears that both location data and social media activity could reveal sensitive military information to adversaries.