\u201cRed force tracker\u201d is a term bandied about in military intelligence circles, a kind of fantastical technology that perfectly tracks the movements of every enemy all the time. It\u2019s the kind of tool that exists in strategy video games, acquired at great expense or with cheat codes, and the sort of technology that is impossible to implement in real life. Or, at least, it would have been before everyone \u2014 from the highest-ranking generals to the most ubiquitous private \u2014 carried an always-online device that tracked their individual movements and contained every communication they ever made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In light of this, it is unsurprising that the Army in late December 2019 banned the installation and use of TikTok, a popular video-making and -sharing app, from all government-owned phones. Now, in the wake of the United States\u2019 targeted killing<\/a> of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and the planned movement of more troops into the Middle East, it\u2019s important to think about what kind of potentially revealing information about high-value personnel may be revealed from seemingly innocuous sources and what steps should be taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\t