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The Trump administration's newly launched White House App is under scrutiny after a software developer claimed to have found embedded code that tracks users' precise GPS coordinates every 4.5 minutes and automatically syncs them to a third-party server. The claim, posted on 28 March 2026 by the X account @Thereallo1026, has drawn nearly 260,000 views and prompted questions about data collection practices in government-operated applications.

The post included what appeared to be decompiled source code from the app, revealing what the user described as OneSignal's 'full GPS pipeline compiled in.' According to the post, the code showed the app 'polling your location every 4.5 minutes, syncing your exact coordinates to a third-party server.' The White House has not publicly responded to the specific technical claims.

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[-] magnetosphere@fedia.io 64 points 2 weeks ago

This is the kind of behavior I’d expect from this administration.

[-] Not_mikey@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 weeks ago

The bar is so low and they still manage to limbo under it

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[-] Skankhunt420@sh.itjust.works 43 points 2 weeks ago

Lol I remember watching that YouTube video about a north Korean phone that took screenshots every few minutes.

Freedom™

[-] sompreno@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 weeks ago

Freedom as a tag line not as a promise.

[-] BCsven@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 weeks ago
[-] lagoon8622@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

The key difference is, instead of your data winding up in an oppressive, kleptocratic surveillance state, it goes to the oppressive, kleptocratic adtech industry (dw, your data is also still sent to the oppressive, kleptocratic surveillance state,)

[-] beansoup@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

Its all projection from the west 🤷‍♀️

[-] waterSticksToMyBalls@lemmy.world 28 points 2 weeks ago

To be fair the type of person that would install a white house app probably needs to be tracked anyway.

[-] SGforce@lemmy.ca 18 points 2 weeks ago

This is tracking the press who need it for their job

[-] uninvitedguest@piefed.ca 9 points 2 weeks ago

Is the app a requirement to get a press pass?

[-] Ludicrous0251@piefed.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago

If that were even remotely true hopefully the press is smart enough to install on a burner "work" phone that sits in their desk drawer, or on a secondary account that is logged out by default.

[-] Gork@sopuli.xyz 23 points 2 weeks ago

So their app description is lying?

wut

[-] OwOarchist@pawb.social 44 points 2 weeks ago

The Trump regime, lying?

This is a thing unheard of!

[-] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 1 points 2 weeks ago

Must be the Democrat's fault somehow!

[-] obinice@lemmy.world 22 points 2 weeks ago

The funny thing is, THIS seems to be the part the media is rolling with, but if you read the full details about what it can do and how poorly it's made, tracking your location is only one thing to worry about (though it's a big one to be fair).

E.g The potential for running arbitrary malicious code if one random dude on the internet (who is unrelated to the US government) has his GitHub account compromised? Daaaaaaawg

[-] Jerry@feddit.online 17 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

According to the Google Play Store, there are 467 reviews (4.8 stars) but "0+" downloads. Like everything else about the White House, it doesn't add up.

And maybe most people know to keep it off their phones.

image

[-] Casterial@lemmy.world 17 points 2 weeks ago

Why would anyone install government shit on their phone

[-] porcoesphino@mander.xyz 7 points 2 weeks ago

From the US government, I completely agree. But a functional government helps and supports its citizens and there are plenty of ways an app on your phone can help. Admittedly that's pretty ideological, but at the very least I'd argue there is a spectrum

[-] Nindelofocho@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

It should just be a website and not something that needs to live on my phone 24/7

[-] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 weeks ago

Don't you follow and obey Orange Jesus?

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[-] Stache_@lemmy.ml 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

It’s because there were SO many downloads, more than two BILLION I’m told, by some really fantastic people who made the app, this wonderful app, that we hit something called an INTEGER LIMIT. Can you believe that? We had so many of you GREAT Americans sign up, that it just completely broke the App Store. It’s just incredible.

/s

[-] Haquer@lemmy.today 3 points 2 weeks ago

More like

We hit something called pulls up paper

int... inta... intajur? limit. what a word

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[-] ptz@dubvee.org 11 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

509 reviews as I write this and still 0 downloads and zero of those 509 reviews have any text; they just have ratings.

[-] fonix232@fedia.io 5 points 2 weeks ago

The Play Store has recently (I think about 3 years ago?) introduced delayed updates for things like download counts because they were battling faked statistics (e.g. the download counter could be manipulated by bot farms), so now downloads are accumulated and checked against users actually using the app and having it on their devices - which takes time to update so IIRC they now only update that counter every month. Hence the 0+ downloads.

[-] Pappabosley@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

So they're verifying downloads, but not reviews?

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[-] osanna@lemmy.vg 12 points 2 weeks ago

Who the actual fuck would install an app from lying scum dumpy? Holy shit.

[-] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

I'm going to have to check my mother's phone.

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[-] Cantaloupe@lemmy.fedioasis.cc 4 points 2 weeks ago

Who tf is out here downloading the White House app?

[-] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I just learned it existed

[-] nuko147@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Thank god that they banned foreigner made Routers to their whole country for security reasons though.

[-] flop_leash_973@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Is this the same app that also has a feature that allows you to inform on others to ICE?

[-] droopy4096@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 weeks ago

...the idea was to track POTUS47, as a sole user of the app, as he notoriously got lost...

[-] thorhop@sopuli.xyz 3 points 2 weeks ago

Cheesy electron wrapper does some tracking. News at 9.

[-] merdaverse@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 weeks ago

If you're so stupid that you install an app for Trump propaganda, you deserve to boot of the state on your neck.

[-] TwinTitans@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

LOL. White House app. Just fuck right off with your propaganda 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[-] modus@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Wtf is a White House app good for? Streamlining his mental diahrea into your hands?

[-] merdaverse@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago

Official propaganda delivered right to your push notifications:

[-] isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

Wow. That's North Korea levels of propaganda.

[-] skisnow@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

One thing I don't think has got enough attention is the fact that it does a fetch from Truth Social as well, which means Trump personally gets at least some indirect data on the app's users on a server that isn't even slightly controlled or contracted by the government.

[-] PolarPirate@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago

Scary thing is that this is EXTREMELY common....

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[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

i installed it on my burner and it's asking permission to check my buttholes

[-] thisphuckinguy@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Why would anyone download this?

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

and they think we're stupid enough to install it willingly

[-] Tiger_Man_@szmer.info 1 points 2 weeks ago

its gotta be hard to be a conspiracy theorist nowadays where every theory turns out to be true

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this post was submitted on 29 Mar 2026
230 points (99.6% liked)

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