US Military Disables Advertising Trackers on Troops' Devices

US military officials have disabled advertising trackers on various phones and computers, as stated in letters released on Friday by Senator Ron Wyden and comments provided to Reuters. This action follows reports that commercially available location data was used to target American forces in the Middle East. The Air Force informed Wyden that it disabled advertising identifiers on devices two months ago. US Special Operations Command indicated in a separate letter that it had recently disabled these trackers on its Windows devices. The Army reported to Reuters that advertising IDs associated with mobile devices had been disabled since earlier this year. Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, has been pressing the Pentagon on this issue for several months. The disclosures underscore a growing national security concern regarding the use of location data collected by the advertising industry and sold by data brokers, which can potentially track military personnel in war zones. The Air Force and Special Operations Command declined to provide further comments. Similar letters from the Army and Navy to Wyden confirmed the disabling of advertising IDs on military devices but did not specify when these restrictions were implemented. The Army stated that advertising IDs had been blocked on Windows computers since before 2021, while Android and Apple mobile devices had this feature disabled by default since at least February 2026. Attempts to reach the Navy for comment were unsuccessful. The initiative to limit location data from smartphones comes as military officials consider stricter regulations on phone usage. In July, Reuters reported that some deployed personnel in the Middle East might be required to surrender their phones due to concerns that mobile videos they shared online could assist Iran in targeting American bases in the region. Wyden and Representative Pat Harrigan, a Republican from North Carolina, sent a letter to the Pentagon on Friday requesting an investigation into whether the military effectively addressed the risks associated with the location data trade. The letter included updates from various service branches regarding their efforts to disable advertising IDs on military devices. Wyden stated that it was evident the military's efforts had not been successful in neutralizing this threat, while Harrigan remarked that US adversaries should not be able to purchase information that aids in tracking American troops. The Pentagon indicated via email that it would respond directly to the lawmakers. Mobile advertising IDs (MAIDs) are unique identifiers linked to specific devices that can track a person's activity across mobile applications and determine their physical location. Zach Edwards, co-founder of the privacy ad tech company DecryptAds, noted that the move to disable MAIDs on military-operated devices is a positive step. He mentioned that these restrictions would help ensure that military personnel's locations are not included in bulk data sales by various vendors, although he warned that personnel could still be tracked through other means, such as triangulating device details with network data or location information.