Fact Check: Does the new White House app secretly track users' exact location?

WASHINGTON, DC: A claim about the new White House app has raised concern over user privacy. A post circulating online alleges that the app secretly tracks users’ exact locations and saves their coordinates every 4.5 minutes without allowing the tracking to be disabled. Let’s fact-check the claim.

Claim: White House app secretly tracks users' exact location 

The rumor originated from an X user, GOP LS, who claimed that “BREAKING: The new White House app contains a location tracker with NO WAY to disable it.”

The post included a screenshot of the app’s launch announcement with a Community Note alleging that the app sends location data to a remote server every 4.5 minutes.

The claim is resurfacing amid a fresh political and media dispute, rather than because researchers have newly discovered or activated the tracking issue.

The Trump administration recently barred reporters from CNN, Politico and MS NOW from accessing the White House, citing “fake news.” The outlets sued the administration, arguing that the ban violates the First Amendment.

Meanwhile, the White House has launched and promoted “Trump TV,” a 24/7 streaming channel featuring administration speeches, announcements, and highlights through official YouTube and White House channels.

Official accounts have also promoted the White House app as a way to receive “real-time updates and live events streamed DIRECTLY to your phone,” describing it as a source for news “straight from the Trump Administration” with “no noise” and “no filter.”

Fact Check: The claim is misleading

The claims are misleading. The White House app, launched in March 2026, contains code that can access a user’s location. 

However, testing has found no evidence that the app is currently collecting or sending users’ exact GPS location every 4.5 minutes. Users can also block location access through their phone settings.

The app uses OneSignal, a third-party service for push notifications and analytics. Its code includes location-tracking functions that could check a device’s location about every 4.5 minutes when the app is open and about every 9.5 to 10 minutes when it runs in the background. 

If activated, the data would be sent to OneSignal’s servers rather than directly to the government.

Independent analysts, including NowSecure and Atomic Computer, tested the app on real devices and found that these location functions were not being used. Their tests did not detect location data being collected or sent.

Users can also prevent the app from accessing their location. On iPhones, they can select “Never” for location access, while Android users can choose “Don’t allow.” 

This blocks GPS access even if the feature is enabled later. Newer versions of the app also state that the app does not use the user’s location.

The White House has said the app does not require accounts or collect users’ locations and that its information is “safe and secure.” 

Separately, the app has been pushed to some government-issued phones, raising questions about whether employees can remove it. That issue is separate from the claim about active location tracking.