Pakistan, Sept. 5 -- The US military has started disabling advertising trackers on phones and computers used by its personnel. The move aims to reduce risks of location data exposing American troops in the Middle East. Several military branches have taken similar steps after concerns about commercial tracking systems. Officials fear apps could collect location information that reveals the movements of service members.

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The Air Force told Senator Ron Wyden that it disabled advertising identifiers on computers and mobile phones. The service reportedly took the step about two months ago. Meanwhile, US Special Operations Command disabled the trackers on its Windows devices...