French sailor’s fitness app sparks security panic as it pinpoints warship location | World | News

A French sailor appears to have accidentally revealed the location of a large warship with a login on his smartwatch. The crew member was jogging aboard the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which was sailing in the Eastern Mediterranean on March 13, at a time when tensions between the United States and Iran were rising.

According to French news outlet Le Monde, he recorded a 4.3-mile run that took 35 minutes, which was later uploaded to his public profile on the fitness app Strava. While the carrier’s deployment is not secret, the data is said to reveal its precise location in near real-time. Charles de Gaulle is France’s flagship carrier and the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside the US military.

It was deployed along with several frigates by President Emmanuel Macron following the US-Israeli attacks in late February with the mission of protecting vital shipping lanes from potential Iranian attacks.

Just days before the run was recorded, Mr Macron had visited the ship diverted from North Atlantic exercises. In his speech on the ship, he said: “France is there to protect itself and to stand by its allies and friends who have been hit.

“Your presence today demonstrates the power of France, a balancing and peaceful force.”

The incident has once again raised concerns about security risks associated with publicly shared fitness data.

The app also reportedly revealed the patrol patterns of French nuclear submarines.