Newsletters
The U.S. military has disabled advertising trackers on a range of phones and computers amid concerns that commercially available location data could be used to track and target American forces in the Middle East, according to letters released Friday by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and statements provided to Reuters.
The Air Force told Wyden that it disabled advertising identifiers on computers and mobile phones two months ago, while U.S. Special Operations Command said in a separate letter that it had “recently” disabled them on Windows devices.
The Army told Reuters that advertising IDs linked to mobile devices had been disabled since earlier this year.
Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, has pressed the Pentagon for months over the issue, which has raised concerns that location data collected by the advertising industry and sold by data brokers could be used to monitor military personnel deployed to war zones.
Letters from the Army and Navy to Wyden also said advertising IDs had been disabled on military devices but did not specify when the restrictions were imposed.
The Army said advertising IDs had been blocked on Windows computers “since before 2021,” while Android and Apple mobile devices had them disabled by default “since at least February 2026.”
The measures come as military officials consider stricter restrictions on mobile phone use more broadly. Reuters reported in July that some U.S. personnel deployed in the Middle East could be ordered to surrender their phones over concerns that videos posted online were helping Iran target American bases in the region.
Mobile advertising IDs, commonly known as MAIDs, are unique identifiers linked to individual devices that can be used to track activity across mobile applications and determine physical location.
Wyden and Republican U.S. Rep. Pat Harrigan of North Carolina sent a letter to the Pentagon on Friday requesting an investigation into whether the military had adequately addressed the risks posed by the commercial location data trade.
The letter included updates from military branches on their efforts to disable advertising IDs on military devices.
Wyden said the military’s efforts “have not been effective at neutralizing this threat.”
Harrigan said U.S. adversaries “should not be able to pull out a credit card and buy information that helps them track American troops.”
The Pentagon said in an email that it would respond directly to the lawmakers.
Zach Edwards, co-founder of privacy advertising technology company Decryptads, described efforts to disable MAIDs on military-operated devices as “definitely a positive thing.”
He said the restrictions would “essentially ensure their location isn’t being included in bulk data sales being done by numerous vendors,” but cautioned that personnel could still potentially be tracked through applications using more complicated methods, including combining technical device information with network data or location information.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
