The White House launched a new mobile app promising direct access to presidential updates, breaking news, and livestreams. But security researchers have uncovered code suggesting the app silently tracks device location every 4.5 minutes in the foreground and 9.5 minutes in the background-despite offering no map, weather, or location-based features.
The app also collects IP addresses, phone numbers, and in-app interaction data. While the White House’s privacy policy discloses basic data retention, it does not explicitly acknowledge persistent GPS tracking.
Security engineer Adam noted the app’s API traffic is vulnerable to interception on public networks, and runtime modification is possible on jailbroken devices. "Everything described is observable by anyone who downloads the app," he said.
Neither Apple’s App Store nor Google Play currently display these permissions, raising questions about oversight.