Report: Niantic says Pokémon Go data isn't training military drones, but player scans helped build AI models

• Niantic Spatial and Vantor partnered in December 2025 to develop tech pinpointing human and vehicle locations without GPS.
• Pokémon Go players have been scanning real-world locations for years, but sharing this data with Vantor is said not to be part of the deal.

Niantic Spatial has reportedly "insisted" that data from Pokémon Go isn’t being used to train military drones.

Niantic Spatial and intelligence company Vantor partnered in December 2025 to develop a new technology pinpointing human and vehicle locations without GPS.

The goal is to create "GPS redundancy for autonomous and mixed reality operations", with a drone in the sky and a person on the ground able to share coordinates in real time regardless of GPS signal.

This led to a report by Trouw that alleged 30 billion pieces of location data from hundreds of millions of users could be utilised from Pokémon Go. However, a spokesperson has since told IGN that sharing Pokémon Go’s player data is not "part of the agreement" with Vantor.

"We are committed to working with all of our customers and partners to ensure that Niantic Spatial products are used in a responsible manner that upholds human rights and ethical principles," the spokesperson said.

Watching whereabouts?

Privacy and online safety have become increasingly prevalent topics in recent years, more so than when Pokémon Go launched almost 10 years ago. From Apple’s ATT to social media bans for under-16s in Australia and soon the UK, user privacy and data security are greater focal points today, with new legislation a common occurrence.

As a geolocation game, user tracking has always been an essential feature in Pokémon Go. AR functionality has also meant millions of players pointing their cameras at real-world objects and locations to display Pokémon in real-world settings. Alternatively, players can receive rewards for scanning 3D landmarks in their local area.

In some cases, data has been overtly collected to help distinguish new PokéStops and Gyms, with even rural areas mapped by eager players in the process. Furthermore, Pokémon Go’s terms of service note that Niantic has a nonexclusive, transferable, royalty-free perpetual licence "to use, copy, modify, create derivative works based upon, publicly display, publicly perform, market, promote and distribute" users’ AR content.

"First you think you are playing a game, and then suddenly your data can be used in a war," Trouw suggested.

Despite the terms and conditions, the Niantic Spatial spokesperson assured IGN that while "voluntary ground scans" were used to help train AI systems, the resultant models are a product of training rather than a direct copy, and Vantor does not have access to that underlying data.

Last year, Niantic Spatial netted $250 million following a deal to sell Pokémon Go and more to Scopely for $3.5 billion. CEO John Hanke said at the time that Niantic would help AI move beyond the screen and into the real world.

"Existing maps were built for people to read and navigate but now there is a need for a new kind of map that makes the world intelligible for machines, for everything from smart glasses to humanoid robots, so they can understand and navigate the physical world," he said.