In a given month, more than 100 million people open Pokémon Go—the app that allows users to superimpose the world’s most profitable media franchise onto reality using only their smartphone. Using their phone camera and a flick of the wrist, they captured tiny digital monsters at the park, at the office, sometimes in active minefields, and, yes, in the bathroom.

Who else was watching?

Pokémon Go, initially developed by Niantic in 2016, uses augmented reality (AR) to blend the virtual world of Pokémon with the physical world around players. By accessing a smartphone’s camera, GPS, and motion sensors, the game overlays digital Pokémon onto real-world environments, requiring players to physically move to specific locations to ‘catch’ them. The game’s seamless blending of the digital and physical world made it an immediate smash hit (its ties to Pokémon probably didn’t hurt, either). But underneath that immersive experience are important privacy concerns about how much personal information is being collected, who controls it, and how it’s being used.

On March 12, 2025, Niantic announced it had sold its video games unit to Scopely, a mobile game maker owned by the Saudi Royal Investment Fund, for $3.5 billion. As part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 Initiative, the Saudi government has made major investments in the gaming industry. Some have critiqued the Saudi government’s investments in this space for gamewashing—where popular entertainment is used to divert attention away from human rights abuses committed by the government. But what might be equally concerning are the privacy implications.

Like most online gaming companies, Niantic collects vast amounts of user data, and its terms of service agreements have been criticized for allowing broad access to this information. While the company has stated in its blog that data is collected to improve gameplay and mapping accuracy, the company has been less forthcoming about how it uses data internally. With Niantic’s recent acquisition by the Saudi government, it is also unclear how the sale will impact the data policies and practices for games like Pokémon Go and whether new ownership could lead to expanded data collection practices or applications of sensitive user information.