U.S. military disables advertising trackers to protect troop locations

advertising identifiers location data military security mobile advertising ID data brokers

The U.S. Department of Defense has disabled advertising trackers, specifically Mobile Advertising IDs (MAIDs), on government-issued phones and computers across all military branches. This security measure follows reports that foreign adversaries have exploited commercially available location data to track and target U.S. military personnel, particularly those deployed in the Middle East.

Different branches implemented these changes at varying times. The U.S. Army reported that advertising IDs on Android and Apple mobile devices have been disabled by default since at least February 2026, and Windows computer identifiers were blocked prior to 2021. The U.S. Air Force disabled identifiers on both computers and mobile devices approximately two months ago. The U.S. Special Operations Command recently disabled trackers on Windows devices, and the Navy and Marine Corps have also confirmed the disabling of these identifiers on their equipment.

Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Pat Harrigan have called for a full investigation into how the Pentagon addresses the risks posed by the commercial sale of location data. While the disabling of MAIDs makes it significantly harder for data brokers to link device activity to specific individuals, officials warned that personal devices and contractors could still pose security risks.

Entities

Pat Harrigan · Pentagon · Ron Wyden · U.S. Air Force · U.S. Army · U.S. Central Command · U.S. Department of Defense · U.S. Special Operations Command

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 15 SOURCES] Android and Apple mobile devices have had advertising IDs disabled by default since at least February 2026. cde.news · www.independent.co.uk · news.pchome.com.tw · www.newsbytesapp.com · thecsrjournal.in · +10 more
[● 14 SOURCES] The U.S. Army blocked advertising IDs on Windows computers prior to 2021. cde.news · www.independent.co.uk · news.pchome.com.tw · www.newsbytesapp.com · thecsrjournal.in · +9 more
[● 12 SOURCES] The Air Force disabled advertising identifiers on computers and mobile devices approximately two months ago. cde.news · www.independent.co.uk · news.pchome.com.tw · www.newsbytesapp.com · techcrunch.com · +7 more
[● 17 SOURCES] The U.S. military has disabled advertising trackers on various phones and computers. cde.news · www.independent.co.uk · techcrunch.com · www.fbcnews.com.fj · www.newsbytesapp.com · +12 more
[● 7 SOURCES] U.S. Central Command confirmed that foreign adversaries have used commercial location data to target U.S. military personnel. techcrunch.com · cde.news · www.sofx.com · dijitaliyidir.com · www.t-online.de · +2 more
[● 16 SOURCES] U.S. Special Operations Command recently disabled advertising trackers on Windows devices. cde.news · www.independent.co.uk · news.pchome.com.tw · www.newsbytesapp.com · techcrunch.com · +11 more
[● 5 SOURCES] Foreign adversaries have used commercially obtained location data to target U.S. troops in the Middle East. cde.news · techcrunch.com · www.fbcnews.com.fj · www.newsbytesapp.com · www.independent.co.uk
[● 13 SOURCES] The U.S. Army has disabled advertising IDs on mobile devices since earlier this year. cde.news · www.independent.co.uk · news.pchome.com.tw · www.newsbytesapp.com · thecsrjournal.in · +8 more
[● 10 SOURCES] The U.S. Air Force disabled advertising identifiers on computers and mobile devices approximately two months ago. dijitaliyidir.com · www.khabarfoori.com · www.t-online.de · enghelabe-eslami.de · www.newsbytesapp.com · +5 more
[● 7 SOURCES] The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have confirmed the disabling of advertising identifiers on their devices. dijitaliyidir.com · www.goniec.net · wojna.co.pl · enghelabe-eslami.de · www.newsbytesapp.com · +2 more
[● 9 SOURCES] Senator Ron Wyden has pressured the Pentagon to address the security risks posed by commercial location data. dijitaliyidir.com · www.goniec.net · www.t-online.de · enghelabe-eslami.de · www.newsbytesapp.com · +4 more