WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND / RankWire.AI / – Recent activity on fitness apps has uncovered precise location details linked to hundreds of individuals exercising at New Zealand Defence Force facilities. A review identified 565 Strava users who logged workouts at NZDF bases and camps since January. Of these, 488 had public profiles with visible activity histories. Investigators could not confirm that all accounts belonged to defense personnel. Nevertheless, most showed signs of a connection to military service.
The recorded activities took place at several major defense sites in New Zealand. These included Whenuapai, Devonport, Ohakea, Linton, Burnham, Waiouru, and Woodbourne. Users also tracked workouts at Papakura Military Camp and the nearby Ardmore training area. Public Strava segments mapped routes within or around these defense facilities. Some segment names referenced military fitness tests or notable base landmarks. For years, participant names appeared on leaderboards at these locations.
The data also revealed activity outside New Zealand. Users logged workouts at military sites across 13 countries and territories. Locations appeared in Australia, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Britain, Egypt, the Philippines, Fiji, and the Cook Islands. Some records originated from Antarctica. Certain accounts showed repeated trips between New Zealand military sites and overseas locations. This created clear timelines that linked individuals with specific places.
Public Profiles Reveal Travel and Training Patterns
Strava tracks exercise via GPS, including running, cycling, and walking. Its public segments rank users completing the same routes. The review found 41 public segments at defense locations. Even users with private profiles could sometimes appear on leaderboards by name. In at least 30 instances, those names helped connect activity across multiple military sites. Tagged workouts and linked accounts also exposed family ties in 13 cases.
Some public profiles included more than route data. Users uploaded workout titles, images, and videos tied to training zones and military facilities. Several profiles showed activity around Waiouru and other defense locations. One senior NZDF member used their real name while in the United States. That account displayed activity near various military installations and runs close to New Zealand’s embassy in Washington.
Defense Authorities Issue Warnings About Location Data Risks
The New Zealand Defence Force issued guidance regarding the dangers of fitness apps and social media. Personnel are advised to disable fitness tracking when in sensitive areas. They are also encouraged to avoid using full names on fitness platforms. NZDF states it regularly provides operational security advice before deployments and other key activities. The organization has measures to safeguard personnel, facilities, operations, and information. Still, it does not have a specific policy for Strava or similar fitness-tracking apps.
Strava offers tools to help limit location visibility. Users can restrict activity sharing to followers, set activities to private, or hide parts of maps. Entire activity maps can also be concealed. Strava recommends stronger privacy controls near workplaces and sensitive sites. Activities shared only with followers or kept private do not show up on public segment leaderboards. NZDF notes that having fitness data online does not necessarily constitute a security breach.