In a move that reflects the modern battlefield's reliance on technology, the U.S. Army has formalized a new policy that allows it to search the personal electronic devices of deceased soldiers for classified or sensitive information.

The directive, issued through a policy memo this month, grants the Joint Personal Effects Depot — the entity responsible for managing the belongings of service members who die overseas — the authority to retain and review personal cell phones, laptops, and other devices to identify national security risks.

The memo aims to clarify longstanding ambiguities regarding the handling of such devices, especially in the wake of increasingly advanced personal technology.

“The policy was issued to keep up with the pace of evolving technology and the understanding that these devices have capability to transfer sensitive information,” said Lt. Col. Orlandon Howard, an Army spokesperson.

Here's What They're Not Telling You About Your Retirement

He added that the guidance helps define “who should we be checking more closely or handling differently based on their access to sensitive information” due to their roles in the military.

While current Department of War policies prohibit storing classified information on personal devices, gray areas remain. Many soldiers keep operational data such as unit alert rosters on their phones.

On their own, these might not constitute a threat. However, combined with deployment dates or specific locations, they can create a security vulnerability — a phenomenon known as “classification by compilation.”

“It’s telling of sort of the time and age that we’re in where your phone tells everything about you,” said David Cook, an intelligence soldier in the Army Reserve and national security director at ShadowDragon, a software company specializing in open-source intelligence.

This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year

“I mean, we develop patterns of life on terrorists because of the devices that they carry in their pocket.”

The Army’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program, which allows troops to access military email, Teams, and cloud storage via personal devices, further complicates matters.

Cook emphasized that even seemingly innocent content — like personal pictures taken in a combat zone — could become a national security issue.

“If I snap a picture down range, I don’t post it anywhere, but it is on my phone and I die, then who has access to it?” he asked.

If the image is uploaded to a cloud and that platform is compromised, it could inadvertently expose troop movements or operational locations.

Beyond the realm of cybersecurity, the policy also includes provisions regarding Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), operational security, and personally identifiable information (PII).

Image Credit: DoW

The directive notes that if a device is encrypted, officials can seek help from agencies such as the National Security Agency to bypass security.

If unsuccessful, the Army will perform a risk assessment. Devices deemed high-risk may be retained for further investigation, while those considered low-risk will be returned to the soldier’s next of kin.

According to Army regulations, sealed documents or materials found among a soldier’s personal effects are reviewed “to ensure proper safeguarding of military information,” and civilian or military law enforcement may retain such items for further investigation.

In this context, the new policy represents both a continuation of previous protocols and a response to contemporary security concerns.

Gary Barthel, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and current civilian attorney, views the policy as a necessary measure for force protection.

“If there’s something that’s on a deceased service member’s phone or other equipment that might jeopardize that operation or certain individuals or certain enemy combatant targets, that would be a concern,” he said.

Nevertheless, the move has raised questions about privacy, both for the deceased and for their grieving families. Brian Ferguson, an Air Force reservist and civilian defense attorney, commented on the long-standing practice of examining devices during investigations.

“It’ll be open season on searching the devices, but honestly I think that’s kind of always been the policy,” he said.

“The point of this might be to make it more restrictive, not less, honestly, because I can’t think of an instance where a military law enforcement agency that finds a dead soldier isn’t immediately gonna go through his devices.”

The policy specifically requires that classified, private health, and personally identifiable information be removed before any device is returned to the next of kin. But that assurance hasn’t resolved all concerns.

Daniel Conway, a former Army lawyer who now represents families of deceased service members, warns that the policy may be intrusive and vaguely defined.

“We don’t know what’s happening to the data after it’s being retrieved. We don’t know how it’s being stored. We don’t know whether it’s being destroyed,” Conway said.

“Are they going through all his emails? Are they going through his photos? Are they inspecting his banking data? Are they inspecting his phone calls?”

As a private attorney, Conway has encountered family members struggling to reclaim the phones of loved ones who died by suicide, noting the emotional toll that prolonged investigations and limited transparency can inflict.

“I wouldn’t want presumptively unqualified soldiers going through all of the digital data of my loved one,” he said.

“Seeing probably private content, seeing maybe evidence of the depression, seeing mental health related concerns that they may have had all under the guise of protecting national security.”

Ultimately, the new Army policy underscores the delicate balance between safeguarding national security and respecting the dignity and privacy of the fallen and their families.

As personal technology continues to evolve, the military’s approach to digital privacy in the aftermath of a soldier’s death is likely to remain a contentious issue.

Warning: Account balances and purchasing power no longer tell the same story. Know in 2 minutes if your retirement is working for you.