Niantic denies Pokemon Go data is being used to train military drones

Niantic Spatial says Pokemon Go player data is not being used to train military drones after reports linked the mobile game’s AR scans to a defense partnership with Vantor.

The controversy began after Dutch outlet Trouw reported that Pokemon Go players who scanned real-world locations for in-game rewards may have unknowingly helped train an AI navigation system. The report claimed Niantic Spatial used nearly 30 billion scans to help build a 3D model that can navigate when GPS drops, and that Vantor would be able to deploy the system for drones and military robots.

Niantic Spatial has a partnership with Vantor, announced in December 2025. According to Niantic’s own announcement, the two companies are developing a visual positioning system for GPS-denied areas to help air and ground platforms coordinate when signals are unavailable, spoofed, or jammed.

However, Niantic Spatial has now pushed back on the claim that Pokemon Go data is being shared with Vantor.

Niantic says Pokemon Go scans are not part of Vantor deal

“While we have an agreement with Vantor, announced last December, it is still in its very early stages, and sharing this data is not part of the agreement,” a Niantic Spatial spokesperson told IGN.

The company said the partnership aims to build a system that enables sensors to determine their position in the real world without GPS. Niantic Spatial also acknowledged that ground scans were used as one component to help train its real-world foundation models, but said those models are “not a copy of or a means of accessing the underlying scans.”

Niantic also clarified that the often-cited “30 billion” figure does not mean 30 billion separate Pokemon Go scans. The number refers to individual video frames from scans across multiple Niantic games, including Ingress and Pokemon Go.

The company also said Pokemon Go data is no longer shared with Niantic Spatial now that the game is part of Scopely. AR scanning in Pokemon Go has also been discontinued, with Niantic saying the end of data sharing was part of the transition plan after the game moved to Scopely.

Still, the report has renewed concerns over how player-submitted data can be used after it is collected. Trouw quoted one longtime Pokemon Go player, Floris De Hingh, saying: “I was just playing a game.”

For now, Niantic’s position is that Pokemon Go scan data is not being shared with Vantor and is not part of the company’s current agreement.