Nearly 30 billion scans made my Pokémon Go players have reportedly been sold to a military drone technology company.
The report, conducted by Trouw and published on June 5, shows how the scans—videos of a location recorded by users that are then saved and rewarded by the app—have reportedly led to a navigation system developed for military drones and robots. (Note: we read the report using Mozilla Firefox’s in-browser translation tool).
According to Trouw, these scans are now owned by Niantic Spatial, which originated from Niantic, developer of Pokémon Go. Said scans have been used to train a 3D model that allows players to navigate spaces with precision even when the GPS signal is dropped.
Niantic Spatial isn’t operating alone, however. In December of last year, the company partnered with Vantor, a provider of “unified spatial intelligence” that works across the defense, intelligence, and commercial sectors.
According to the report, Vantor denied that it will use data from Pokémon Go. But the company, according to Trouw, also doesn’t want to confirm or deny whether that means that the model was trained with that data.
In late 2024, a representative for Niantic confirmed in a statement the studio has spent the past five years building AI models that power the VPS needed for its Large Geospatial Model. When players opt-in to sharing their AR scans, that data feeds the VPS, and Niantic assured that players’ personal data “[has not] been sold to anyone.”
Now, Trouw reports that Niantic Spatial isn’t being clear about the exact role the Pokémon Go data will play in Vantor’s model. In response to previous questions from Trouw on the company’s collaboration with Coco Robotics, a spokesperson replied saying the scans have been used to train an “early version” of the model.
In that response, Niantic Spatial also emphasized that players have voluntarily agreed to the terms, and that the company is working ethically. “We are committed to working with all our customers and partners to ensure that Niantic Spatial’s products are used responsibly, while respecting human rights and ethical principles,” the company told the publication.
When asked a follow-up question about cooperating with a defense company, Niantic Spatial told Trouw that it doesn’t have “any new information to share at the moment.”
According to Jeroen van den Hoven, professor of ethics and technology at TU Delft, a distinct conclusion can be drawn. “Without the large amount of scans from all those gamers, the development of this system would never have been so fast,” van den Hoven told Trouw. “The players have indirectly, in a perhaps minimal yet effective way, contributed to military applications.”
Game Developer has contacted Scopely, Niantic, and Pokémon Company for clarification on the matter.