Наталя Хандусенко That's Life 16 January 2025, 17:06

French submarine crew accidentally reveals classified information through fitness app

French Navy servicemen revealed secret information about submarine patrols through the fitness app Strava.

Crew members of French nuclear submarines inadvertently revealed confidential information about their positions and patrol schedules by sharing their workouts on the fitness app Strava, according to an investigation by the French newspaper Le Monde.

The crew members used the app to jog while at the Ile-Long naval facility in Brest, western France, which is home to four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, each capable of carrying 16 nuclear missiles.

While more than 2,000 employees undergo security checks to enter the premises — passing through a facial scanner and surrendering their phones at special checkpoints — smartwatches were skipped in the process.

The devices, which can store data without being connected to a smartphone or the internet, have gone unnoticed by senior military officials. When crew members left the base, their movements on site were uploaded to Strava, Le Monde reports.

The information uploaded to Strava showed how nuclear submarine patrols were conducted, with patrol schedules and training routes, Le Monde reported. The time gaps between training sessions uploaded to Strava also indicated when users were at sea.

Speaking to Le Monde, the French Navy acknowledged the “problematic situation” but said it did not pose a “serious risk.” They said the revelations did not contain “any shortcomings that could affect the activities of the Il Long operational base.”

“The photos were taken over a year ago.” Google commented on the accusations of the Center for the Prevention of Disinformation about the disclosure of the positions of military systems on satellite maps