One guy accidentally caused the Chinese military to ban smartwatches

You know what would suck? Being the guy responsible for preventing 1.6 million soldiers from being able to get a smartwatch. That’s exactly what happened to an unfortunate fellow in the People’s Liberation Army of China when he used a smartwatch that his girlfriend had gifted him to snap a photo of his buddies, thus resulting in a complete ban on such devices due to security concerns. 

When a new recruit in China’s military received a smartwatch as a gift from his girlfriend and used it to snap a photo of his comrades, he was unknowingly sparking a ban on all such devices for all 1.6 million soldiers in the People’s Liberation Army. China’s military authorities point to the potential for smartwatches and other wearable devices to be hijacked as eavesdropping tools that can expose sensitive locations and communications as the reason for the ban. After a squad leader caught the recruit enjoying his new gift, he took it up to his superiors, who ultimately banned smartwatches and other wearables. “The moment a soldier puts on a device that can record high-definition audio and video, take photos, and process and transmit data, it’s very possible for him or her to be tracked or to reveal military secrets,” according to the resulting warning as published in the Liberation Army Daily, the Chinese military’s official newspaper.