Thread by @bellingcat

We don't always trawl beer app data

But when we do, we find the approach of military & intelligence personnel to privacy settings to be, uh, alarming

@FoekePostma on what Untappd users are inadvertently revealing

bellingcat.com/news/2020/05/1…

@FoekePostma Hundreds of time-stamped location data points, neatly sorted into highly specific categories, allow us to find and track military and intelligence personnel.

Though they are mostly European / North American users, we can find traces of them globally.

@FoekePostma Some of these sensitive locations, initially hidden in the app’s search functions, can still be found with a little work-around.

Even MORE info can be gleaned from the pictures users post along with their check-ins.

@FoekePostma There is the simple fact that Untappd is a beer app

You know what this means.

Some military/intelligence personnel may be posting potentially sensitive info while slightly or not so slightly inebriated

There are definitely security implications to this.

@FoekePostma If we can easily find and use this data — imagine all of the other people who can do it

Why are we publishing this?

With Untappd, the onus is *on the user* to be careful.

There are ways to protect your information on this app. The people were looked into were NOT doing that.

@FoekePostma Please drink responsibly!

And please check your privacy settings.

Look into what's in your actual beer photos.

Check to make sure you're not leaving a trail of breadcrumbs.

Read the full report to understand how and why.

bellingcat.com/news/2020/05/1…