This is Why We Shouldn’t Go on Runs

Strava, the popular activity-tracking app, uses a device’s GPS to record data points like distance and speed, which runners use to train and, yes, gloat about on social media. But unfortunately, going for a light jog in our increasingly surveilled society might just mean giving up your military’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier coordinates. I always knew Strava was an evil app for evil men in evil run clubs to brag about their athletic ability, but now I have even more of a reason to avoid it.

According to the French newspaper Le Monde, an officer using a smartwatch with the Strava app installed recorded his run on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and, in doing so, provided a live report of the ship’s location, which was revealed to be off the coast of Turkey.

Because the officer, referred to in the French paper as “Arthur,” had a public Strava profile, the record of his run was accessible to anyone on the app. The screenshot of the Strava recap shared by Le Monde shows his route in red, a pathetic little loop-de-loop slowly sprawling across a vast sea of blue.