The US military has disabled advertising trackers on a range of computers and mobile devices following reports that commercially available location data was being used by Iran to target American forces in the Middle East, Reuters reports, citing letters from the US Air Force, Army, Navy and Special Operations Command made public by Senator Ron Wyden, as well as statements provided to the agency by the US Army.
The report said, according to the Army, advertising IDs had been blocked on Windows computers "since before 2021," while the feature on Android and Apple mobile devices had been disabled by default "since at least February 2026."
The Navy did not respond to requests for comment.
The disclosures underscore a growing national security concern over the use of location data gathered by the advertising industry and sold by data brokers.
Such companies collect, aggregate and resell personal information that can potentially be used to track military personnel deployed in conflict zones.
The move to limit location data generated by smartphones comes as military officials consider broader restrictions on phone use.
Reuters reported in July that some US personnel deployed in the Middle East could be ordered to surrender their phones amid concerns that videos they posted online were helping Iran locate and target American bases in the region.
Wyden and US Representative Pat Harrigan, a North Carolina Republican, sent a letter to the Pentagon requesting an investigation into whether the military had adequately addressed the risks posed by the commercial location-data market. The letter included responses from various military branches detailing their efforts to disable advertising IDs on military devices.
Wyden said it was clear that the military's efforts "have not been effective at neutralizing this threat."
Harrigan noted that US adversaries "should not be able to pull out a credit card and buy information that helps them track American troops."
The Pentagon made clear in an email that it would respond directly to the lawmakers.
Mobile advertising IDs, commonly known as MAIDs, are unique identifiers associated with individual devices. They can be used to monitor activity across mobile applications and determine a user's physical location.
Zach Edwards, co-founder of privacy-focused ad technology company Decryptads, confirmed disabling MAIDs on military-operated devices was "definitely a positive thing."
The restrictions "will essentially ensure their location isn't being included in bulk data sales being done by numerous vendors," Edwards said, while cautioning that personnel could still be tracked through other, more complex methods. These could include combining technical device information with network data or other location signals.
By Bakhtiyar Abbasov
