A French officer reportedly revealed the location of an aircraft carrier deployed towards the Middle East after publicly recording a run on sports app Strava.The officer, referred to as Arthur by French news outlet Le Monde, ran a 35-minute sprint while practicing on the deck of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle on March 13. Using the smartwatch, they uploaded the activity to the app, creating a map that showed the ship’s location.According to Le Monde, the carrier was northwest of Cyprus, about 100 km (62 mi) off the Turkish coast, with satellite images capturing the ship and its escort. BBC Verify said it was unable to find the route, although it is possible it may have been later removed or the user’s privacy settings may have been changed.In a statement to the AFP news agency, the French armed forces said the reported incident “does not comply with existing directives” and that appropriate measures would be taken if the report was true.The Charles de Gaulle is part of a carrier strike group recently deployed by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces to the eastern Mediterranean as tensions continue in the region due to the Iran war. The ministry said the group was sent “to protect French citizens, defend France’s interests in the region and support its allies and partners.”There are 20 fighter aircraft, two surveillance aircraft and three helicopters on board. The deployment is part of France’s recent increase in its military presence in the Middle East, which French President Emmanuel Macron has described as strictly “defensive”.This incident is the latest in a series of cases in which activity on Strava has exposed sensitive details. Le Monde previously reported that runs shared by Macron’s bodyguards had jeopardized his location on several occasions, while Secret Service agents accompanying then-US President Joe Biden also shared their whereabouts on the app in 2024.A similar report that year said the app showed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bodyguards at luxurious properties, ownership of which the Kremlin denies. Another feature of Strava, its ‘Heatmap’, has also faced criticism for sharing the exercise routes of military personnel at bases around the world.Heatmaps show all public activities recorded by users globally, allowing people to zoom in and explore different areas. In 2018, the US military said it was investigating the map after security concerns were raised. The disinformation watchdog also said the app allows suspicious individuals to identify and track security personnel working at secret bases in Israel.San Francisco-based Strava uses a mobile phone or fitness device’s GPS to track exercise activity. The company says it has more than 195 million users in more than 185 countries.
