I’m Obsessed With J.D. Vance’s Apple Watch

Micheal

Vancewatch

Sometimes, the Vice President of the United States wears an Apple smartwatch. Last week the blog Watches of Espionage called out Vance over the issue in what it called an “open letter” to the Vice President. Smartwatches are a security risk, they collect a lot of valuable information about us, and it’s strange for a man who is a heartbeat away from the President to wear one.

Strange still is that JD Vance doesn’t seem to wear a smartwatch that often. He has been photographed multiple times wearing an Apple Smartwatch, but it’s far from the norm.

Watches of Espionage is a blog run by a former CIA case officer that focuses on the intersection of watches and the intelligence community. If you’ve ever wanted to know what a Syrian leader or SpecOPs has on their wrist, this is the website for you. On February 4, the blog posted an article chiding Vance for wearing an Apple Watch.

“From an intelligence perspective, the Apple Watch offers unique data collection and access for exploitation and even manipulation. Of particular concern, the watch contains a microphone that when worn is capable of detecting and recording the user’s conversations,” Watches of Espionage said. “Through a process called hot micing, the microphone can be remotely activated or set to passively collect audio without the wearer’s knowledge. Additionally, the Apple Watch collects GPS location, movement, and biometric data including heart rate and sleep patterns, representing potential vulnerabilities for exploitation by bad actors. If the device is compromised, all of this data is available to a hostile intelligence service.”

Watches of Espionage is right. Security is Apple’s brand, but a smartwatch is a smartwatch and Apple’s flagship hoovers up an incredible amount of data about the person who wears it on their wrist. But Vance doesn’t seem to wear an Apple Watch very often.

The picture that caught the former CIA Agent’s eye was posted to Charlie Kirk’s social media on January 28, 2025. In the photo, Vance is giving a thumbs up and clearly wearing an Apple Watch. “Thanks for the ride Mr. Vice President!” Kirk posted alongside the photo, implying that the picture was taken on Air Force 2.

Looking through Getty and AP photos of Vance’s public appearance over the past two months reveals a startling lack of the Apple Watch. He doesn’t have it on at the inauguration, on the campaign trail, or at any recent high-profile events. On February 9, Getty caught Vance in short sleeves and jeans as he climbed aboard Air Force Two. No Apple Watch. In a photo with Senator Joni Ernst published in October 2024? No watch. That time he mumbled his way through ordering donuts? Not a watch in sight.

Pouring over too many photos of the Vice President over the past few hours I’ve only found one other recent time he’s worn the Apple Watch. At the end of January, Vance traveled to Damascus, Virginia, and spoke about the recovery efforts around Hurricane Helene.

And there it is. The Apple Watch.

Why here? And why on the plane with Kirk? Vance, like myself, is an older millennial. We’re not big watch people. Our phones can give us the time of day and a lot of other data besides. Going through photos of Vance it seems like he’s not a watch guy. Ninety percent of the time, he’s just not wearing one. But every now and then, there’s an Apple Watch

I’m going to say that Vance’s smartwatch isn’t a security risk. It’s simply not present most of the time. But settling that question has left me with more questions. If you’re interested in health data, you need to wear an Apple Watch constantly. Time and notifications aren’t an issue for a man surrounded by an army of assistants.

So why sometimes? Why only every now and again? Why?

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