Policy Summary
There is a fairly short but detailed history of covert operations, and actions, being discovered by people posting their workout data to Strava, a fitness tracking app.. President Trump’s war with Iran that began at the start of March has been involved in this issue. A French navy’s Charles De Gaulle Aircraft Carrier was discovered moving closer to the Middle East when an officer uploaded their run to Strava which gave up the location of the ship.
Analysis
Strava is one of the most popular apps for working out, particularly for endurance athletes such as runners, cyclists, triathletes, etc. It is also especially popular with military personnel, and other secret or covert professionals around the world. Strava was released in 2009 and since then has garnered a ginormous following with 135 million users worldwide in 190 countries, and 13 languages. Needless to say, it is quite popular. People upload their workouts, including GPS location data among other details, to the app and can engage with others like a social media platform, seeing people in different locations who exercise like you do.
It is not surprising that military personnel, whose profession requires they maintain good physical shape and health, use an app such as Strava. However, the what if their location is meant to be classified?
At the outset of March, President Trump attacked Iran in a maelstrom of missile fire. This led to the death of the Supreme Leader of Iran, and many other important military and political figures in Iran. Trump’s war triggered immediate shock reactions from countries around the world, including many of our NATO allies such as France and Germany. The French began moving naval assets closer to the region to be nearer Iran and the military operations being conducted by the United States. Part of this was the movement of the Charles De Gaulle Aircraft Carrier, a French naval vessel. The location of this warship was leaked to the internet via Strava when a French Navy officer uploaded his running exercise, that was conducted on the flight deck of the ship, to Strava.
This French officer’s workout brought back up many studies done over the past decade that demonstrate some of the security dangers of Strava. For example, in 2018 the United States, and other countries, were exposed via Strava for the deployment of military and security forces around the world that were supposed to be classified or acting covertly.
Strava each year uploads the Strava Global Heatmap. This is a physical representation of all of their users’ exercise data displayed on a world map, publicly viewable for any and all people. This Global Heatmap logs about 3 trillion pieces of data representing each individual’s performance. This led to the discovery of covert military and intelligence assets in places like Afghanistan, Djibouti, Syria; and did not just affect American personnel, but also European and Russian forces as well. Also included on the Heatmap was data from within military bases on US soil, as one user logged a bike ride from within the boundaries of what is known colloquially as ‘Area 51’ in Nevada. The Guardian ran a headline in 2018 that said “Fitness tracking app Strava gives away location of secret US Army bases”.
In 2018 United States Department of Defense implemented an outright ban on GPS software being on smartphones, watches, and other pieces of technology while in combat zones. This was an important policy to protect American servicemembers; however, it did not apply to domestic or international bases outside of combat areas. So, in terms of intelligence gathering capabilities of foreign adversaries, there was still a big opportunity to gather information on military forces.
Globally, Strava is still a threat to security for military personnel but also to world leaders. An article by ASIS Security Management, from 2025, discussed how potential world leaders and military commanders can become targeted via their Strava usage. For example, in 2023 a former Russian submarine commander was assassinated while running (he uploaded his workouts to the internet too); unsurprisingly, Russia blames Ukrainian forces for this act of violence.
A 2025 article in the Swedish publication Dagens Nhyeter discussed the role that Strava has played in providing security concerns for their heads of government due to their bodyguards logging their runs and exercise sessions to Strava. This has implicated bodyguards of the Swedish Royal Family and also the Swedish Prime Minister.
The employment of a bodyguard ought to be a secretive position, but they are consistently leaking their positions around the world by exercising. In the 2025 Swedish article, it was stated that over 1,400 workouts were logged while these bodyguards were exercising. The locations of various government agencies and offices; residences of governmental leaders; the personal residences of the bodyguards; routes that are used very frequently for commuting and exercise; hotels abroad; and more were all leaked to the public. Five of the 1,400 workouts were by bodyguards responsible for the protection of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. The 1,400 workouts were logged in locales such as Israel (leading in/out of a luxury hotel where presumably the Prime Minister was located), skiing in the Alps, running in Central Park in New York City, and even on military bases in Africa.
Strava, and other GPS tracking fitness apps, pose a unique threat to global security. The ability to track people via their wearable technologies, or cellular devices, is going to lead to a more dangerous world.
Engagement Resources
- Strava Global Heat Map – https://www.strava.com/maps/global-heatmap?sport=All&style=dark&terrain=false&labels=true&poi=true&cPhotos=true&3d=false&gColor=blue&gOpacity=100#9/34.1908/-116.0576
- Dagens Nyheter Article, 2025 – https://www.dn.se/sverige/har-lacker-sapo-hemliga-uppgifter-om-ulf-kristersson/
- ASIS Security Management Article, 2025- https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/latest-news/today-in-security/2025/july/strava-privacy-settings/