US disables ad trackers amid fears location data could target troops: Report

US military branches have disabled advertising IDs on phones and computers after reports that location data was used to target troops in the Middle East. Lawmakers say the steps may still fall short as data brokers can sell information that helps track American personnel.US military branches have disabled advertising IDs on phones and computers after reports that location data was used to target troops in the Middle East. (Photo: Reuters)The US military has disabled advertising trackers on a range of phones and computers following reports that commercially available location data had been used to target American forces in the Middle East, according to letters released on Friday by US Senator Ron Wyden and statements given to the news agency Reuters.The Air Force told Wyden that it disabled advertising identifiers on computers and mobile phones two months ago. US Special Operations Command said in a separate letter that it had “recently” disabled them on its Windows devices. The Army told Reuters that advertising IDs tied to mobile devices had been disabled since earlier this year.Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, has pressed the Pentagon on the issue for months.The disclosures highlight a growing national security concern: location data collected by the advertising industry and sold by data brokers, companies that collate and resell personal data, can be used to track and target military personnel deployed to war zones. The Air Force and Special Operations Command declined further comment. Similar letters from the Army and Navy to Wyden said they had disabled advertising IDs on military devices but did not indicate when the restrictions were imposed.The Army said in a statement that it had blocked advertising IDs on Windows computers “since before 2021”, while Android and Apple mobile devices had had the feature disabled by default “since at least February 2026.” Messages seeking comment from the Navy went unreturned.The effort to reduce the location data generated by smartphones comes as military officials weigh increasingly strict restrictions on phone use overall. In July, Reuters reported that some deployed personnel in the Middle East could be ordered to surrender their phones amid concerns that mobile videos they were posting to the internet were helping Iran target American bases in the region.Wyden and US Representative Pat Harrigan, a North Carolina Republican, sent a letter to the Pentagon on Friday asking for an investigation into whether the military had properly countered the dangers of the location data trade. The letter included updates from the various service branches on their efforts to disable advertising IDs on military devices.Wyden said in a statement that the military’s efforts “have not been effective at neutralising this threat.” Harrigan said US enemies “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 to the lawmakers directly.Mobile advertising IDs, often abbreviated as MAIDs, are unique identifiers tied to specific devices that can track a person’s activity across mobile apps and pinpoint their physical location.Zach Edwards, co-founder of privacy ad tech company Decryptads, said efforts to disable MAIDs on military-operated devices were “definitely a positive thing.”The restrictions “will essentially ensure their location isn't being included in bulk data sales being done by numerous vendors,” Edwards said. However, he cautioned that personnel could still be tracked through apps in other, more complicated ways, including by triangulating technical device details with network data or location information.- EndsPublished By: Akshat TrivediPublished On: Sep 5, 2026 06:34 IST