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| Fitness tracker Strava lights up military base | Fitness tracker Strava lights up military base |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Military personnel around the world have been publicly sharing their exercise routes online - including those inside or near military bases. | Military personnel around the world have been publicly sharing their exercise routes online - including those inside or near military bases. |
| Online fitness tracker Strava has published a "heatmap" showing the paths its users log as they run or cycle. | Online fitness tracker Strava has published a "heatmap" showing the paths its users log as they run or cycle. |
| It appears to show the structure of foreign military bases in countries like Syria and Afghanistan, as soldiers move around inside. | It appears to show the structure of foreign military bases in countries like Syria and Afghanistan, as soldiers move around inside. |
| The US military is examining the heatmap, a spokesman said. | The US military is examining the heatmap, a spokesman said. |
| Air Force Colonel John Thomas, a spokesman for US Central Command, told the Washington Post that the US military was reviewing the implications. | Air Force Colonel John Thomas, a spokesman for US Central Command, told the Washington Post that the US military was reviewing the implications. |
| Strava said it had excluded activities marked as private from the map. | Strava said it had excluded activities marked as private from the map. |
| Users who record their exercise data on Strava have the option of making their movements public or private. Private data, the company said, has never been included. | Users who record their exercise data on Strava have the option of making their movements public or private. Private data, the company said, has never been included. |
| The appearance of military bases on the heatmap suggests that large numbers of military personnel across the globe have been publicly sharing their location data. | The appearance of military bases on the heatmap suggests that large numbers of military personnel across the globe have been publicly sharing their location data. |
| The latest version of the map was released in November 2017, but the implications for service personnel were only raised over the weekend. | The latest version of the map was released in November 2017, but the implications for service personnel were only raised over the weekend. |
| Nathan Ruser, an Australian student who first highlighted the issue, said it "looks very pretty, but not amazing for Op-Sec [operational security]." | Nathan Ruser, an Australian student who first highlighted the issue, said it "looks very pretty, but not amazing for Op-Sec [operational security]." |
| "US bases are clearly identifiable and mappable," he said. | "US bases are clearly identifiable and mappable," he said. |
| The location of military bases is generally well-known, both from local knowledge and pre-existing satellite imaging tools like Google Earth. | The location of military bases is generally well-known, both from local knowledge and pre-existing satellite imaging tools like Google Earth. |
| Concerns about Strava's heatmap are mainly centred around the fact that it displays the level of activity - shown as more intense light - and the movement of personnel inside the walls. | Concerns about Strava's heatmap are mainly centred around the fact that it displays the level of activity - shown as more intense light - and the movement of personnel inside the walls. |
| It also appears that location data has been tracked in the area outside bases - which may show commonly-used exercise routes or patrolled roads. | It also appears that location data has been tracked in the area outside bases - which may show commonly-used exercise routes or patrolled roads. |
| The app is far more popular in the West than elsewhere - which means foreign military bases stand out as isolated "hotspots" in the Middle East. | |
| Bases which are easily identifiable include those used by the US in Syria and Iraq, an RAF base in the Falklands, and one used by French forces in Niger. | Bases which are easily identifiable include those used by the US in Syria and Iraq, an RAF base in the Falklands, and one used by French forces in Niger. |
| Millions of users track their location data with Strava while exercising, often using a fitness tracker worn on the wrist or a smartphone to automatically upload their location as they jog or cycle. | Millions of users track their location data with Strava while exercising, often using a fitness tracker worn on the wrist or a smartphone to automatically upload their location as they jog or cycle. |
| In an engineering blog post from November, Strava said the newest version of the map was built from one billion activities - some three trillion points of data, covering 27 billion km (17bn miles) of distance run, jogged, or swum. | In an engineering blog post from November, Strava said the newest version of the map was built from one billion activities - some three trillion points of data, covering 27 billion km (17bn miles) of distance run, jogged, or swum. |
| Strava released a brief statement highlighting that the data used had been anonymised, and "excludes activities that have been marked as private and user-defined privacy zones." | Strava released a brief statement highlighting that the data used had been anonymised, and "excludes activities that have been marked as private and user-defined privacy zones." |
| "We are committed to helping people better understand our settings to give them control over what they share," it said. | "We are committed to helping people better understand our settings to give them control over what they share," it said. |
| The settings available in Strava's app also allow users to explicitly opt out of data collection for the heatmap - even for activities not marked as private - or to set up "privacy zones" in certain locations. | The settings available in Strava's app also allow users to explicitly opt out of data collection for the heatmap - even for activities not marked as private - or to set up "privacy zones" in certain locations. |
| On Monday morning, Mr Ruser - who first highlighted the potential problem - also issued a word of warning to those convinced they were uncovering top-secret bases. | On Monday morning, Mr Ruser - who first highlighted the potential problem - also issued a word of warning to those convinced they were uncovering top-secret bases. |
| "This is an incredible op-sec breach but you're looking at lines on a map," he tweeted. "It's impossible to say more than 'someone's run near there' with any certainty." | "This is an incredible op-sec breach but you're looking at lines on a map," he tweeted. "It's impossible to say more than 'someone's run near there' with any certainty." |
| He urged internet sleuths to "please look at the data in context". | He urged internet sleuths to "please look at the data in context". |