US Military Disables Ad Trackers On Phones, Computers Amid Target Fears In Middle East: Report

(MENAFN- Live Mint) 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 forces in the Middle East, British news agency Reuters said in an exclusive report.

The move was disclosed in letters released on Friday by US Senator Ron Wyden and in statements provided by military officials to Reuters.

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The US Air Force told Wyden it disabled the advertising identifiers on computers and mobile phones two months ago. US Special Operations Command said it had“recently” disabled the identifiers on its Windows devices.

The Army told Reuters that advertising IDs tied to mobile devices had been disabled since ​earlier this year. It said the identifiers had been blocked on Windows computers since before 2021, while they had been disabled by default on Android and Apple mobile devices since at least February 2026.

Similar letters from the Army and Navy to Wyden said advertising IDs had been disabled on military devices, although the Navy did not specify when the restrictions were imposed, Reuters said. The Navy did not respond to a request for comment by Reuters.

Why is the US military concerned?

The disclosures highlight ⁠a growing national security concern: that 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 news ageny said.

The measures reflect growing concern over the commercial trade in location data, according to the report.

Advertising companies collect information about users and their devices, while data brokers compile and sell such information to third parties. In some cases, the data can reveal a person's location and movements.

That has raised national security concerns because such information could potentially be used to locate military personnel deployed in conflict zones.

Mobile advertising IDs, commonly known as MAIDs, are unique identifiers linked to individual devices. They can be used to track activity across mobile applications and help determine a device's physical location.

Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, has been pressing the Pentagon on the issue for months.

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On Friday, Wyden and Republican US Representative Pat Harrigan called on the Pentagon to investigate whether the military had adequately addressed the risks posed by the commercial location-data market.

Wyden said the military's efforts“have not been effective at neutralizing this threat”.

Harrigan said US adversaries“should not be able to pull out a credit card and buy information that helps them track American troops”.

The Pentagon said it would respond directly to the lawmakers.

Growing restrictions on phones

The move comes as the US military considers broader restrictions on smartphone use by personnel deployed in the Middle East.

Reuters reported in July that some US troops in the region could be ordered to surrender their phones amid concerns that videos posted online by military personnel could provide information that helps Iran target American bases.

Disabling advertising IDs, however, may not eliminate the risk of tracking altogether.

Zach Edwards, co-founder of privacy ad-tech company Decryptads, said disabling MAIDs on military-operated devices was“definitely a positive thing”.

He cautioned, however, that troops could still potentially be tracked through other methods, including apps or by combining technical device information with network and location data.

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The latest measures therefore form part of a wider effort by the US military to limit the amount of location information generated by devices used by its personnel, particularly those deployed in active conflict zones.

(With agency inputs)

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