U.S. military disables advertising trackers on devices after location-data concerns

U.S. military officials announced that advertising trackers, known as mobile advertising IDs, have been disabled on a range of computers and smartphones used by service members. The Air Force reported turning off these identifiers on computers and phones two months prior, while Special Operations Command recently did the same on its Windows devices. The Army confirmed that Windows computers have been blocked since before 2021 and that Android and Apple phones have had the IDs disabled by default since at least February 2026; the Navy also reported similar actions but gave no timeline.

These actions respond to revelations that commercial location-data services were being leveraged to pinpoint American troops in the Middle East. Senators Ron Wyden and Representative Pat Harrigan have urged a Pentagon investigation into the adequacy of the safeguards, emphasizing that adversaries should not be able to purchase data that reveals troop movements. Privacy-tech expert Zach Edwards praised the steps but warned that other tracking methods could still pose risks.