US military to review security amid Strava fitness app fears
Fitness activity published on a global heatmap threatens to give away secret military locations and put soldiers' lives at risk.
Monday 29 January 2018 18:38, UK
The US military has said it will review its privacy policy amid concerns that an interactive map released by fitness tracking app Strava could reveal the locations of sensitive military bases.
The website and mobile app - which uses GPS from phones and fitness devices such as Fitbit or Garmin to record activity - used the information to create a "global heatmap", which was published on their website in November.
The map raised security concerns about soldiers and other people who are at US military bases in sensitive areas.
In response to the Strava data, Pentagon spokeswoman Major Audricia Harris said: "The Department of Defence (DoD) takes matters like these very seriously and is reviewing the situation to determine if any additional training or guidance is required, and if any additional policy must be developed to ensure the continued safety of DoD personnel at home and abroad."
Strava - whose tagline is "the social network for athletes" - has defended publishing the information, saying it was already made public by the users who uploaded it.
A blog post entitled "" published in the summer says: "Nothing is more important than the safety of our community, and part of our commitment to safety is providing world class tools to allow you to choose what to share".
The article goes on to explain how to add privacy zones and manage heatmap data sharing.
The website says they have 27 million users around the world, and that the updated map includes "six times more data than before - in total one billion activities from all public Strava data".
The aggregated information - which is not live - shows activity collected between 2015 and September 2017.
However, while the illuminated areas of movement are plentiful in the US and Europe, in remote warzones such as Iraq and Syria the map becomes dark, except for areas used by soldiers and military staff tracking their own fitness.
This has meant that the locations of US military bases - both well-known bases and lesser-known and potentially sensitive sites - stand out clearly on the map.
The free website, which tracks running, cycling, winter and water activities, awards "challenge" badges for distances completed, and is used by both professional and amateur athletes around the world.