Soldiers on Strava fitness app share personal info from military bases

Hundreds of Belgian military personnel have been sharing personal information via the American fitness app Strava, including from military bases around the country.

The app reveals the names of more than 4,000 military personnel who have been recorded exercising since 2014 on the grounds of the headquarters in Brussels, the air force bases at Kleine-Brogel and Florennes, the naval base at Zeebrugge, the Nato headquarters in Brussels and the Nato command centre Shape near Mons, according to an analysis from De Morgen.

Of the military personnel who appear at the six locations investigated, two-thirds have a public profile that allows anyone to view their first and last name, profile photo and a bio. 

Their place of residence and nationality are also regularly listed, along with their number of followers and the accounts they follow. 

People use Strava to record and share information, photos and videos related to their workouts and fitness accomplishments. 

The app also maintains leaderboards showing running and cycling times on a particular route, or ‘"segment". Some of these ‘segments’ are located on the secure premises of the Belgian army and Nato, and users of those segments are included in public rankings.

Belgian defence minister Theo Francken (N-VA) has previously cautioned against technology that could allow countries such as Russia and China to collect identifying information on Belgian military personnel, warning that information about where such people live or who they are in contact with could be used for “targeted digital or physical attacks”.

The defence ministry tightened the rules governing the use of personal smartphones by military personnel in 2018.