The U.S. military has disabled advertising tracking on government-issued phones and computers to reduce the risk that commercially available location data could be used to identify or target service members. The changes apply across the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and U.S. Special Operations Command, according to correspondence shared with Sen. Ron Wyden.
The protections cover managed iPhones, Android devices, and Windows computers on military networks. Reuters reported that several branches implemented the changes earlier this year, while the Air Force said it disabled the tracking more recently in July.
Advertising IDs Can Be Used to Link Devices to Locations
Mobile advertising IDs are identifiers used by apps and advertising companies to track devices across services. Location information associated with those identifiers can be shared with third parties and data brokers, creating a commercial trail that may reveal where a device regularly travels.
Disabling the advertising ID makes it harder to connect location records to a particular device or individual. The military’s changes follow concerns that foreign adversaries had obtained commercially available location data and used it to target U.S. personnel in the Middle East.
Wyden raised the issue with military leaders earlier this year after learning about those reported targeting efforts. He welcomed the changes but warned that privately owned phones carried by service members and contractors onto military installations could still expose sensitive location information.
Personal Devices Remain a Potential Weak Point
The new controls apply to government-managed devices and do not eliminate location data generated by personal smartphones. Apps installed on privately owned devices can continue collecting information unless users or operating systems restrict those permissions.
That distinction matters at military bases and other sensitive facilities, where repeated location records can reveal patterns about personnel, units, or activity even when the data was originally collected for advertising purposes.
The issue also highlights a broader contradiction in how the U.S. government treats commercially available location data. While military officials have acknowledged that such information can pose a security risk to service members, U.S. intelligence agencies and the FBI have also acknowledged purchasing commercially available data for intelligence or investigative purposes.
The latest restrictions focus on reducing the amount of identifying advertising data generated by military-owned devices. They do not prevent data brokers from collecting or selling similar information originating from other devices carried by people working at or visiting military facilities.
Featured image credits: rawpixel.com / Sergeant Matt Hecht
For more stories like it, click the +Follow button at the top of this page to follow us.