French news outlet Le Monde has reported that a sailor's use of a popular fitness app may have inadvertently revealed the location of a French warship currently deployed overseas.
The individual, whom Le Monde said was a French Navy officer, reportedly used the fitness app Strava to register a run lasting 35 minutes while he was on board the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
The carrier and at least 11 other navy vessels are being deployed to the Mediterranean and the Red Sea upon the order of deeply unpopular French President Emmanuel Macron as a deterrent against further aggression by Iran in the latter's ongoing hostilities with the United States and Israel.
The officer's use of the app via his smartwatch generated a map that showed the carrier's location at the time, which Le Monde said was approximately 100 kilometres off Turkey and northwest of Cyprus.
The French Armed Forces Ministry told AFP that it would take appropriate measures if the report is confirmed to be true.
This is not the first time that use of the fitness app may have accidentally revealed the location of a French Navy warship while at sea.
In January 2025, Le Monde reported that the crews of a number of French Navy nuclear-powered submarines logged their movements on the app while their boats were underway. The outlet said it therefore became possible to know of each submarine's location and other information such as patrol patterns and schedules despite the fact that such information should have remained confidential.
The earlier report also found that many of the crews had used their real names and had publicly visible profiles on the app, thus raising concerns about possible breaches of national security.
Le Monde had earlier quoted French Navy officials as saying that the leaks were the result of "negligence on the part of the personnel" but that there was no "major risk."
