# "Fitness tracking app Strava gives away location of secret US army bases" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 29, 2018, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitness-tracking-app-strava-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases/807701 "2018-01-29T03:15:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitness-tracking-app-strava-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases/807701/21 "2018-01-30T01:37:37Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > Strava is rather helplessly pointing out that if people would just read the instructions they could have turned off the data collection in specific areas. > A bunch of people will be getting an urgent security briefing about now… Maybe this isn’t realistic, but it seems to me that personnel in sensitive sites should, upon arrival, have to spend like ninety seconds showing their devices to an inspector to demonstrate that they’ve got their privacy settings in order, and it should be required not to change those settings without permission. This isn’t the first time that security has been breached by an app with GPS, right? I’d even think it’d be feasible to have an app sort of like a password manager that reviews privacy settings on all apps and ensures conformity to military guidelines. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitness-tracking-app-strava-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases/807701/22 "2018-01-30T01:49:02Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > You think the Russians don’t already know those bases are there? Or the Taliban? Nothing better then having willing inside sources. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitness-tracking-app-strava-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases/807701/23 "2018-01-30T02:43:14Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Maybe this isn’t realistic, but it seems to me that personnel in sensitive sites should, upon arrival, have to spend like ninety seconds showing their devices to an inspector to demonstrate that they’ve got their privacy settings in order, and it should be required not to change those settings without permission. This isn’t the first time that security has been breached by an app with GPS, right? > > I’d even think it’d be feasible to have an app sort of like a password manager that reviews privacy settings on all apps and ensures conformity to military guidelines. I don’t run w/ a phone; when I used strava, it automagically (after granting permission) uploaded from Garmin’s website after I synched my watch w/ that site. This works the same for other platforms as well. You can also upload activities directly from your watch using the .fit file. My phone (default: GPS off; only turned on when needed for a specific app; no Strava app ever installed) would pass w/ flying colors but I could still break security. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitness-tracking-app-strava-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases/807701/24 "2018-01-30T03:10:55Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Toned hips reveal blips. Taut pecs, shipwrecks. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitness-tracking-app-strava-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases/807701/25 "2018-01-30T14:45:08Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > It’s partly an online community, even if you only connect with a few friends. It is also a way to compete with others. Segments of road are tracked and times recorded. A cyclist or runner can see how they fair against themselves, their friends, and the fastest ever. It is great motivation for improving your fitness. I can see that, for some. My motivation comes from bettering myself, regardless of how others are doing. For that I don’t need to track the exact route. I tried it briefly with Tracks, but just didn’t get it. Perhaps I’m the anomaly. Again. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitness-tracking-app-strava-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases/807701/26 "2018-02-12T23:58:37Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > I don’t run w/ a phone; **when I used strava, it automagically (after granting permission) uploaded from Garmin’s website after I synched my watch w/ that site.** This works the same for other platforms as well. You can also upload activities directly from your watch using the .fit file. > > My phone (default: GPS off; only turned on when needed for a specific app; no Strava app ever installed) would pass w/ flying colors but I could still break security. I disabled Garmin data flowing to Strava in Strava but it was still showing up; apparently one needs to disable it in Strava, where permission was granted originally & **also** disable it in Garmin Connect, even though I never enabled it there. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitness-tracking-app-strava-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases/807701/27 "2018-02-13T01:50:39Z")
Kind of bizarre people don’t set their uploads to ‘private’ when on active duty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitness-tracking-app-strava-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases/807701.md?page=1)