The US military has disabled advertising trackers on a range of phones and computers used by its personnel amid concerns that commercially available location data could be used to track and target American troops in the Middle East.
The move was reported by TechCrunch on Friday, citing a letter from US Senator Ron Wyden. Reuters separately reported the development after obtaining statements from US military officials.
The measures affect devices used by several branches of the US military, including the Army, Air Force and US Special Operations Command.
Why has ad tracking become a security concern?
The issue centres on mobile advertising IDs, known as MAIDs. These identifiers allow advertisers and data companies to distinguish one device from another and can be used alongside location information collected by apps.
TechCrunch reported that US officials are concerned such commercially available data could provide sensitive information about the movements of military personnel.
The concern is that data brokers collect location information and sell or share it with other companies. If such data reaches hostile governments or other actors, it could potentially be used to identify the location of US personnel.
Reuters reported that the latest military measures follow concerns that commercially available location data had been used to target American forces in the Middle East.
Which devices are affected?
According to Reuters, the Air Force told Senator Wyden that it disabled advertising identifiers on computers and mobile phones about two months ago.
US Special Operations Command also said it had recently disabled the identifiers on its Windows devices.
The Army told Reuters that advertising IDs on mobile devices had been disabled earlier this year. It also said advertising IDs had already been blocked on its Windows computers before 2021.
On mobile devices, the Army said the feature was disabled by default from February 2026, Reuters reported.
The Navy's position was not immediately clear.
Is turning off ad tracking enough?
Privacy experts say disabling advertising IDs can reduce the risk, but it may not completely prevent devices from being tracked.
Other forms of technical information, including network data and information collected by apps, could potentially still reveal a device's location.
That means turning off advertising identifiers is only one part of the military's wider effort to limit the amount of location data generated by devices used by its personnel.
Lawmakers want Pentagon investigation
Senator Ron Wyden has been pressing the Pentagon over the potential security risks posed by commercially available location data.
Wyden and Republican Representative Pat Harrigan are seeking a Pentagon investigation into whether the military has done enough to protect service members from the threat.
Wyden has argued that the measures taken so far may not be sufficient to fully address the risk, according to Reuters.
The Pentagon is expected to respond directly to the lawmakers.
The development highlights a growing concern over the vast amount of location information collected through the digital advertising industry. Data gathered for commercial purposes can potentially become a security threat when it is used to track people in sensitive locations, including active military zones.
The US military is also considering broader restrictions on smartphone use by personnel deployed in the Middle East. Reuters reported earlier that some troops could be ordered to surrender their phones over concerns that information posted online could help Iran identify American military positions.
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