The US military just turned off ad tracking on its phones. Maybe you should too
The US military has disabled ad tracking on government-issued phones and computers following concerns about adversaries exploiting commercially available location data to target personnel in the Middle East. Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Pat Harrigan have been pushing the Pentagon to address these risks, and the move follows previous warnings about the use of personal devices by troops and concerns about open-source intelligence gathering. This highlights a broader privacy issue for the general public regarding data collection by apps and data brokers.
Branches of the US military have reportedly disabled ad-tracking on government-issued phones and computers, following concerns that commercially-available location data has been used to target American forces in the Middle East. Confirmation of this action emerged following the release of letters from Senator Ron Wyden, who has been pressing the Pentagon to address these risks for months.
Back in April, US Central Command reportedly warned of "multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data." It is precisely the kind of intelligence that an enemy state would want before aiming a drone or missile.
Senator Wyden, along with Representative Pat Harrigan, wrote to the Pentagon last week asking its inspector general to investigate whether the armed forces have properly countered the risks that their location data is being traded. Reuters reported Harrigan as saying: "[US enemies] should not be able to pull out a credit card and buy information that helps them track American troops."
Of course, just because advertising IDs might be disabled on government-owned devices does not mean that there are not real concerns that personal smartphones used by troops and other personnel are also carelessly sharing sensitive data. In July, for instance, Reuters reported that troops in Jordan had been told their personal devices would be confiscated to prevent adversaries from accessing the "reactions, photos, and footage from the cellphones of our troops." And at the end of last month, the US Navy told personnel to clean up their social media profiles, as adversaries might be exploiting them for open-source intelligence.
The truth is that the threat is not just a military one. Any member of the general public may also dislike the amount of information their phones are collecting about them, and potentially sharing with data brokers. You don't need to be anywhere near the front line of an international conflict to take action to better defend your privacy.
On an iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking, and switch off "Allow Apps to Request to Track." On Android, head to Settings > Privacy > Ads. Recent versions should let you delete your advertising ID entirely.