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Megan Ellis \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n
TL;DR<\/p>\n
Niantic spin-off Niantic Spatial has been using Pok\u00e9mon Go data to develop Visual Positioning Systems.
\nNiantic Spatial has a collaboration with Vantor, a software firm with government connections.
\nA new report attempts to show how player-submitted scans may have ultimately helped fuel VPS solutions for the military.<\/p>\n
Pok\u00e9mon Go<\/a> was one of those rare mobile games that seemingly had everybody talking about it \u2014 even if you never played yourself, you likely either know someone who did, or have spotted its players running around with their phones in public, wondering that the heck they were up to. The game helped introduce a lot of players to the concept of augmented reality<\/a>, and encouraged them to scan their surroundings as part of its gameplay. But now, years after its heyday, a new report is re-raising concerns about how the app uses player data, and the very real-world impact it could have.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n We\u2019ve known for years that Pok\u00e9mon Go empowered creator Niantic to gather massive amounts of data, and that it\u2019s been using this information to develop its Visual Positioning System<\/a> (VPS). While GPS uses timing data from satellites to determine your position, a VPS tries to figure out its location using only what it can see from your device\u2019s camera. And now, an article from Dutch publication Trouw<\/a> is attempting to highlight the uncomfortable relationship between Niantic and contractors developing guidance systems for military drones.<\/p>\n Niantic Spatial, the spin-off Niantic launched last year to foster development of its VPS tech, has a collaboration with Vantor, a software firm with a focus on geospatial intelligence. That includes systems meant to help drones and other military robots navigate their surroundings.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no one silver bullet here \u2014 nothing directly linking Vantor\u2019s work on VPS solutions to training data originally sourced from Pok\u00e9mon Go players \u2014 but Trouw\u2019s report paints a picture that strongly implies a possible trickle-down effect, with player scans helping to inform the development of at least early Niantic Spatial models, and those further helping to fuel advanced Vantor systems.<\/p>\n Especially with more and more reports of governments developing the capability to disrupt GPS positioning at a continent-wide scale, camera-based VPS systems are only likely to become increasingly important to drone warfare. If that\u2019s not something you particularly feel like helping out with, you might want to read all the fine print of an app\u2019s privacy policy before you help it gather data in exchange for a few in-game rewards.<\/p>\n![\"google](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png\"\/ "\\"google"){kind=icon}
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