Augmented reality (AR) mobile game Pokémon Go is facing scrutiny over reports claiming its data is being used to train US-owned military spy drones for satellite-independent navigation.
The investigation, first reported by Dutch newspaper Trouw on June 5, alleged that scanned location data from hundreds of millions of Pokémon Go gamers worldwide is now being used to train an AI model to produce navigation without global positioning systems (GPS).
This could assist military warfare in combat areas beyond the reach of satellite-based location tracking technologies.
Niantic’s VPS to boost US drone routing: report
The report emerged following Niantic Spatial’s partnership with Vantor, an American spatial detection software company known for its deep involvement in US military spy drone development.
Launched in 2016, Pokémon Go has amassed hundreds of millions of users worldwide, producing nearly 30 billion AR scans to date.
These scans aided Niantic Spatial, the AI technology subsidiary of Pokémon Go’s original makers, Niantic, in developing a “Visual Positioning System” (VPS) technology that uses physical landmarks in navigation instead of satellite-dependent GPS tools.
“The partnership addresses a critical vulnerability in modern operations: GPS unavailability, spoofing, interference, and jamming,” the two companies said.
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Watchdog raises red flag over possible abuse
Tech policy watchdog Digital Rights Watch raised alarms over possible exploitation of Pokémon Go users’ data.
Speaking to The Guardian, Digital Rights Watch’s policy head Tom Tulston urged tech regulators to safeguard civilian data from unwarranted military use.
“While they [Niantic] may have disclaimers in their Terms and Conditions, we know that most people don’t read vast legal documents when they want to play a video game,” said Sulston.
He added that regulators must prioritise the best interests of the users to protect consumers from data exploitation of this kind.
“It’s important that we remember that ‘free’ software services often treat the user not as a customer but as the product to be sold,” he said.
Niantic Spatial denies military involvement
Following the publication of Trouw’s report, Niantic Spatial shut down allegations of its military involvement.
Speaking to gaming entertainment news site IGN, a spokesperson from Niantic Spatial said that reports alleging its involvement in US military spy drone development are untrue.
“While we have an agreement with Vantor, announced last December, it is still in its very early stages, and sharing this data [from Pokémon Go] is not part of the agreement,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that Niantic’s partnership with Vantor is primarily focused on developing a location-tracking system that enables real-time navigation without a GPS signal.
Earlier in March, Niantic Spatial collaborated with tech startup Coco Robotics to train delivery robots using Pokémon Go’s Pokéstop system, which pinpoints a location based on notable landmarks such as murals, parks, or plazas.
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