The National Security Agency released a Limiting Location Data Exposure Cybersecurity Information Sheet (CSI) to guide National Security System (NSS) and Department of Defense (DoD) mobile device users on how they might reduce risk associated with sharing sensitive location data. The guide summarizes how and why mobile devices expose location data and explains potential risk that comes with using them. It provides mitigations to limit the sharing of this information, but warns there is no solution to fully mitigate a mobile device from being located.

Mobile devices, from smart phones to tablets to fitness trackers, have become intertwined in many people’s lives over the last decade, providing numerous benefits and becoming almost indispensable. However, the benefits and convenience can come at a cost, says the NSA.