Pentagon Restricts Use Of Fitness Trackers With Location Features

The Pentagon has issued a memo to notify soldiers and other personnel stationed at sensitive military bases and warzone areas of a new restriction on fitness and activity trackers with location-tracking features. They’re no longer allowed to use the location features of these devices as the data could potentially reveal where troops are situated.

This restriction stems from the revelation earlier this year that fitness app Strava was revealing the location of U.S. bases through heatmaps that were publicly visible. The data being used for heatmaps was pulled from the workout routes that soldiers were sharing. Strava subsequently restricted access to the heatmaps.

The Department of Defense hasn’t completely banned location-tracking fitness devices but it’s now restricting the places where the features can be used. It will only allow troops and personnel to use these features in certain areas.

“These geolocation capabilities can expose personal information, locations, routines, and numbers of DOD personnel, and potentially create unintended security consequences and increased risk to the joint force and mission,” the memo says.

It has been left up to the ranking officers in less-sensitive areas to decide whether the personnel under them can use the location features in that particular area. The decision will be based on the threat level at that location.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: pentagon