At Niantic, we strive to create an equitable, accurate and unbiased map for all players and explorers.
Niantic Wayfarer is a platform that allows our explorers community to update the Niantic Map, and we are committed to supporting them in doing so in a fair and unbiased manner. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of location-based and augmented reality gaming.
As part of that commitment, we enforce a punishment ladder against most types of abuse. This policy may provide offenders with disciplinary actions proportional to the severity of the offenses they perform. This means that a first time offender can be punished with any of the disciplinary actions listed below depending on how severe their offense was.
Additionally, repeated offenders will see their punishment gradually increase in severity while providing multiple opportunities to change their behavior. Every enforcement will be accompanied with a notification to inform and educate the offenders on their policy violation. If offenders reform their ways, they are welcomed back into the platform.
However, if offenders continue abuse, they will be permanently removed from our platform and games in accordance with the Niantic Terms of Service.
For the purposes of this policy, we define abuse as behaviors that violate the Niantic Terms of Service and Player Guidelines, such as (non-exhaustive examples):
submitting fake data to the Niantic Map
promoting hateful or harmful content
accessing Wayfarer clients or backends in an unauthorized manner, including through the use of third-party software or add-ons.
Ladder steps 1: Warning
Disciplinary actions:
If this punishment is issued, you will receive an email to the email address associated with your Wayfarer account informing you that we have detected abusive activities on your account.
Ladder steps 2: 30 days Suspension
Disciplinary actions:
If this punishment is issued, you will:
receive an email to the email address associated with your Wayfarer account informing you that we have detected abusive activities on your account and that you have been suspended
Be suspended from all our games and from Wayfarer for a duration of 30 days. When attempting to log into the game, you’ll be presented with a message stating that your account is suspended. You will not be able to bypass this message.
Ladder steps 3: 90 days Suspension
Disciplinary actions:
If this punishment is issued, you will:
receive an email to the email address associated with your Wayfarer account informing you that we have detected abusive activities on your account and that you have been suspended.
Be suspended from all our games and from Wayfarer for a duration of 90 days. When attempting to log into the game, you’ll be presented with a message stating that your account is suspended. You will not be able to bypass this message.
Ladder steps 4: 10 years Suspension
Disciplinary actions:
If this punishment is issued, you will:
receive an email to the email address associated with your Wayfarer account informing you that we have detected abusive activities on your account and that you have been suspended.
Be suspended from all our games and from Wayfarer for a duration of 3650 days. When attempting to log into the game, you’ll be presented with a message stating that your account is suspended. You will not be able to bypass this message.
Redemption period
With the exception of those who have been sentenced to a 10-year suspension, offenders who have behaved impeccably for a period of one year will have their previous offense forgiven. This means that their account returns to a clean slate level and their previous offenses will not cause them to have stronger punishments, should they misbehave again.
We understand that mistakes can happen and believe in giving second chances. We want to encourage users to learn from their errors and become valuable contributors to the Wayfarer community.
If you recognize that you've engaged in activities that violate the Wayfarer guidelines, we encourage you to proactively report yourself to the Wayfarer team (either here or via the Wayfarer Helpchat). By taking responsibility for your actions and demonstrating a commitment to improving, you may be considered for more lenient treatment.
Appealing your punishment
If you believe your account has been punished in error, you may appeal the punishment once. We will respond to your appeal after a complete investigation of your account. Please note that due to the high level of accuracy in our detection systems, very few suspensions are ever overturned.
Suspension appeals must be submitted via web form below.