US military says it has disabled advertising identifiers on troops' phones and computers
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The Facts
- US military officials say they have disabled advertising identifiers on phones and computers used by personnel.
- The changes were disclosed in letters released on 4 September by Senator Ron Wyden and in statements to Reuters.
- The Air Force told Wyden it disabled the advertising identifiers on computers and mobile phones two months ago.
- US Special Operations Command said in a separate letter that it had "recently" disabled the identifiers on its Windows devices.
- The Army said advertising IDs tied to mobile devices had been disabled since earlier this year.
- The steps follow reports that commercially available location data had been used to target American forces in the Middle East.
- Wyden said the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Special Operations Command all disabled ad tracking on government-issued devices.
- Officials have warned that location data aggregated and sold by data brokers could reveal the movements of deployed military personnel.
- Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, has pressed the Pentagon on the issue for months.
Context
What is an advertising identifier?
Mobile advertising IDs, or MAIDs, are codes that let advertisers and data companies distinguish one device from another NDTV. Information collected from mobile devices through this system can then be aggregated and sold on by data brokers — companies that collate and resell personal data TimesNow,ThePrint.
Does this cover troops' personal phones?
The disclosed measures apply to government-issued devices, including iPhones, Android handsets and Windows computers managed on the federal military enterprise network TechCrunch. Reporting notes that troops' personal devices could still expose them to location-based threats NewsBytes.
What remains unclear?
Letters from the Army and Navy said advertising IDs were disabled on military devices but gave no indication of when the restrictions were imposed ThePrint. The Army said IDs had been blocked on Windows computers "since before 2021" while Android and Apple mobile devices had them disabled by default only more recently, and the Air Force and Special Operations Command declined further comment ThePrint.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Both treat the sequencing as the failure: identifiers came off only after reports that commercial location data had been used to target American forces in the Middle East.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether the story is about a commercial market in people's movements that should not exist, or about services failing to secure the devices they themselves issue.
- Why they won’t converge
- The divide is over values and where remedy belongs: one side treats the broker market itself as the hazard requiring rules, the other treats internal accountability as the test, so shared facts settle neither.
How left and right read it
When a commercial market in people's movements becomes a targeting tool, the fix cannot be individual vigilance — it has to be the market itself. Officials warned that broker-aggregated location data could expose deployed personnel, and reports that such data was used to target American forces in the Middle East came before the services switched these identifiers off, service by service, some only two months ago. That order is backwards. Disable the tracking everywhere, then end the trade that made it possible.
“The disclosures highlight a growing national security concern: location data gathered by the ad industry and sold by data brokers -- companies that collect and resell personal information -- can be exploited to monitor and target troops in combat zones.” — The Independent
Protecting the movements of deployed Americans on hardware the services themselves issue is the most basic form of strategic self-reliance, because a force that cannot secure its own kit is dependent on the discretion of others. Yet these identifiers came off only after reports that commercial location data was used to target American forces in the Middle East. The Air Force acted two months ago; Special Operations Command, "recently." Why did the warning have to come from outside?
The receipts — all 34 sources
Wire services (4)
Independent coverage (30)
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