A journalistic investigation by the French newspaper “Le Monde” revealed that the secret locations and movements of U.S. President Joe Biden, presidential rivals Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and other world leaders can easily be tracked online through a fitness app used by their bodyguards, Strava.
Strava is a fitness tracking app widely and globally used by those who walk, run, or cycle to record their activities and share their achievements and successes in the online community. However, it is also used by bodyguards from secret services responsible for the safety of major world leaders. The list of “discovered” includes Biden, Trump, Harris, Putin, Macron…
Through Strava, Le Monde journalists tracked the movements of Macron’s bodyguards to determine that the French leader spent a weekend a few years ago at the seaside resort of Honfleur in Normandy. The trip was supposed to be private and was not listed in the official agenda of the French president.
Similarly, the location of the hotel in San Francisco where Biden stayed several times for high-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2023 was discovered. A few hours before Biden’s arrival, his bodyguard regularly jogged around the hotel.
The newspaper’s journalists identified 26 American agents, 12 members of the French president’s service, and six members of the Russian Federal Protection Service, all responsible for Putin’s security.
The U.S. Secret Service explained that while on duty, agents are not allowed to use personal electronic devices, but they are permitted to do so when off duty, and that this issue may need further regulation.