The biggest concern for most users of the new hit app Pokémon Go is where to catch their next Pokémon or how much money they can budget for the game’s in-app purchases.
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“I am concerned about the extent to which Niantic may be unnecessarily collecting, using, and sharing a wide range of users’ personal information without their appropriate consent”, Franken wrote.
US Senator Al Fraken, best known to the internet as a champion for net neutrality, wants answers from Niantic, the developer of Pokémon GO, about how exactly it’s collecting and storing user data.
Unusually for a video game, this app rewards players for going outside and interacting with other players in the real world. It was revealed on Monday that the game gives Niantic full access to users’ Google account, including email, contacts, photos and documents, if they used it to log into the game from an iOS device. Can you provide a list of current service providers? Can you describe how Niantic ensures parents provide meaningful consent for their child’s use ofPokemon GO and thus the collection of their child’s personal information?
Pokemon GO on Tuesday released an updated version on iOS to reduce the number of data permissions it sought from Google account users.
Niantic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The company, spun off by Google past year, created the game in tandem with Pokemon Co, a third of which is owned by Nintendo. But everyone is eagerly getting in on the fun, including at least two of Franken’s congressional colleagues.
