Fitness app gives away location of world leaders, French newspaper says

An investigation by French newspaper Le Monde found that the highly confidential movements of US President Joe Biden, presidential rivals Donald Trump and Kamala Harris and other world leaders can be easily tracked online through a fitness app that their bodyguards use.

But the US Secret Service told the newspaper that it does not believe the protection it provides was in any way compromised.

Le Monde found that some US Secret Service agents use the Strava fitness app, including in recent weeks after the two assassination attempts on Mr Trump, in a video investigation released in French and in English.

Strava is a fitness tracking app primarily used by runners and cyclists to record their activities and share their workouts with a community.

Le Monde also found Strava users among the security staff for French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Normandy

In one example, Le Monde traced the Strava movements of Mr Macron’s bodyguards to determine that the French leader spent a weekend in the Normandy seaside resort of Honfleur in 2021. The trip was meant to be private and was not listed on the president’s official agenda.

Le Monde said the whereabouts of Melania Trump and Jill Biden could also be pinpointed by tracking their bodyguards’ Strava profiles.

In a statement to Le Monde, the US Secret Service said its staff are not allowed to use personal electronic devices while on duty during protective assignments but “we do not prohibit an employee’s personal use of social media off-duty”.

“Affected personnel has been notified,” it said. “We will review this information to determine if any additional training or guidance is required.

“We do not assess that there were any impacts to protective operations or threats to any protectees,” it added. Locations “are regularly disclosed as part of public schedule releases”.

High-stakes talks

In another example, Le Monde reported that a US Secret Service agent’s Strava profile revealed the location of a hotel where Mr Biden subsequently stayed in San Francisco for high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2023.

A few hours before Mr Biden’s arrival, the agent went jogging from the hotel, using Strava which traced his route, the newspaper found.

The newspaper’s journalists say they identified 26 US agents, 12 members of the French GSPR, the Security Group of the Presidency of the Republic and six members of the Russian FSO, or Federal Protection Service, all of them in charge of presidential security, who had public accounts on Strava and were therefore communicating their movements online, including during professional trips.

Le Monde did not identify the bodyguards by name for security reasons.

It said movements trackable on Strava could lead to security breaches, especially when security agents travel in advance to places such as hotels where leaders then stay and hold meetings.

Mr Macron’s office said on Monday the consequences of the issues reported by Le Monde “are very slight and in no way affect the security of the President of the Republic”.

Local authorities are aware of Mr Macron’s movements ahead of time and the places where he is staying are always fully secure, “so the risk is non-existent”, the statement said.

“A reminder was nevertheless issued to agents by the chief of staff asking them not to use this app,” Mr Macron’s office added.

Identifying the presidential bodyguards — some of them using their full name on Strava — could also help finding other details about their personal address, their family, their movements and photos they posted on various social media, all of which could possibly be used to put pressure on them for malicious purposes, the report stressed.