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| Fitness tracker Strava lights up military base | Fitness tracker Strava lights up military base |
| (about 2 hours 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 including 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. |
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| 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 university student who first highlighted the issue, said he came across the map while browsing a cartography blog last week. | Nathan Ruser, an Australian university student who first highlighted the issue, said he came across the map while browsing a cartography blog last week. |
| "I just looked at it and thought, 'oh hell, this should not be here - this is not good,'" he told the BBC. | "I just looked at it and thought, 'oh hell, this should not be here - this is not good,'" he told the BBC. |
| 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. |
| Furthermore, 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. | Furthermore, 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. |
| Mr Ruser, 20, said he was shocked by how much detail he could see. "You can establish a pattern of life," he said. | Mr Ruser, 20, said he was shocked by how much detail he could see. "You can establish a pattern of life," he said. |
| 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. | 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. |
| Other easily identifiable bases include those used by the US in Syria and Iraq, a UK RAF base in the Falklands, and one used by French forces in Niger. Activity was also visible at the Russian base at Hmeimim in Syria. | Other easily identifiable bases include those used by the US in Syria and Iraq, a UK RAF base in the Falklands, and one used by French forces in Niger. Activity was also visible at the Russian base at Hmeimim in Syria. |
| 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. |
| However there are now concerns around the security of the collected data, and the possibility for it to identify individual users. | However there are now concerns around the security of the collected data, and the possibility for it to identify individual users. |
| Mr Ruser, who is studying international security at the Australian National University, said anyone could have spotted the information. | Mr Ruser, who is studying international security at the Australian National University, said anyone could have spotted the information. |
| "I thought the best way to deal with it is to make the vulnerabilities known so they can be fixed," he said. | "I thought the best way to deal with it is to make the vulnerabilities known so they can be fixed," he said. |
| "Someone would have noticed it at some point. I just happened to be the person who made the connection." | "Someone would have noticed it at some point. I just happened to be the person who made the connection." |