Perhaps it was inevitable for a game which shot to such dizzying heights of popularity so soon after its launch, but Pokemon Go has drawn intense legal scrutiny from day one. There have been complaints about the augmented reality game leading players into places of worship, into sensitive locations like the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, and even into the backyards of people’s private homes. Questions about the privacy of players' personal data have also been swirling around since some players using iOS noticed that the game required full access to and control over their Google accounts, a glitch that Niantic has blamed on a bug in the game that has since been resolved.

Children’s privacy

Now, Niantic Labs general counsel Courtney Greene Power has made public assurances about how Pokemon Go collects, interacts with and stores users' data. The clarification comes in response to a letter from US Senator Al Franken dated 12 July, which raised concerns in particular about the security of the personal data of young people and children. ‘We must ensure that Americans’ – especially children’s – very sensitive data is protected,’ said Senator Franken.

Data collected

In a response dated 26 August, Ms Power says that Pokemon Go accesses and interacts with users' mobile phone settings in order to provide ‘core game functionality and sense of immersion’ and also collects location data and network provider information in order to build a ‘user appropriate’ gaming experience. For players aged 13 and under, a parent or guardian must also sign up to the platform and provide a range of personal data including name, physical address, birthdate and the sum of the first and last numbers of their Social Security number. This data is stored by a third party and is inaccessible to Niantic.

Sponsored locations

Scrutiny of how Pokemon Go player data is used has increased as Niantic plans to roll out ‘sponsored’ game locations across the US. Already a feature of Pokemon Go in Japan, sponsored locations allow corporate bands to be featured within the augmented game world of Pokemon Go, often as Pokemon Go stops or gyms. McDonalds and SoftBank are two of the companies featured as sponsored locations in Japan.

No plans to sell data

However, Ms Power was quick to clarify that greater corporate engagement with the platform would not place players' data at risk. ‘Niantic does not and has no plans to sell Pokemon Go user data – aggregated, de-identified or otherwise – to any third party,’ emphasised the letter. ‘As we continue to develop our sponsored locations program, we will provide certain reports to sponsors about visits and game actions (such as redeeming a promotion at the location), but those reports will contain aggregated data only.’

Sources: Corporate Counsel; TechCrunch (1); TechCrunch (2); Business Insider UK