Macron, Biden and Putin affected Jogging app Strava reveals locations of heads of state

Whether on the Black Sea or in France's seat of government La Lanterne. Thanks to the jogging app Strava, journalists were able to track the movements of the bodyguards of Macron, Biden and Putin.

A recent investigation by the French newspaper "Le Monde " shows that bodyguards of heads of state such as Emmanuel Macron, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin unintentionally allowed conclusions to be drawn about the whereabouts of their protégés by using the fitness app Strava. The app's location data allowed journalists to gain insights into the movements of these high-ranking politicians.

Sébastien Bourdon, one of the journalists responsible, told French-speaking Swiss radio and television (RTS) that the research was based on previous revelations. The New York Times had already pointed out the potential security risks of the Strava app in 2018, which at the time concerned US military sites. "We have continued this work and discovered profiles that are even more sensitive than those of the military," says Bourdon.

Tracking the movements of presidents is very easy

The ability to track presidents' movements is "unfortunately very easy", Bourdon adds. Together with his colleague Antoine Girard, he found public Strava profiles of the bodyguards at locations to which only security forces have access.

In France, for example, the journalists focused their attention on the Pavillon La Lanterne, President Macron's second home. "The people walking around there are probably connected to President Macron," explains Bourdon. After identifying several profiles at this location, they were able to match the movements of the bodyguards with Macron's whereabouts.

Is the security of heads of state at risk?

The journalists also tracked down six bodyguards of Russian President Putin, who stayed several times near a palace on the Black Sea. The opposition claims that this property belongs to Putin, but the Kremlin denies this.

The research raises questions about the diligence surrounding the heads of state. Why do security forces use an app that reveals their positions? Bourdon is astonished by this "dilettantism" and says it is incomprehensible that security personnel do not think about making their profiles private: "We have known about this security gap for over six years."

The revelations by "Le Monde" are at least having an effect: around half of the affected profiles of Macron and Biden's bodyguards have been set to private or deleted. However, the profiles of the Russian security forces are still online.