A French Navy officer went for a run on the deck of the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and uploaded his workout to Strava. This action inadvertently leaked the location of the nuclear-powered warship as it headed to the Middle East.
First reported by French newspaper Le Monde, this story is not an anomaly. The popular fitness tracking app has proven to be a privacy nightmare before. By default, accounts on the social fitness app are set to public, publishing your route any time you log a workout. Strava data has previously been used to locate military bases around the world.
In 2024, Le Monde uncovered French President Emmanuel Macron’s whereabouts by searching for the Strava accounts of his bodyguards, who uploaded public workout data while traveling with him.
Macron had publicly announced the carrier’s deployment, so its movement through the Mediterranean was already known. However, the French military is still put at serious risk when an officer telegraphs its precise location. A representative for the French Armed Forces told Le Monde that the officer’s behavior does not comply with current guidelines, which sailors are regularly made aware of.
Strava did not respond to a request for comment before publication. Let this serve as a reminder for all; even if you are not in the military, it is probably worth setting your Strava account to private.