Why are gyms and Pokestops disappearing? (Getty)
Pokemon GO trainers are noticing a large number of Pokestops have recently been removed since the last Niantic update. This is concerning to some players, who are now having to travel farther just to get Pokeballs and other items thanks to stops near them disappearing. Why are these Pokestops disappearing? Is there any way to get them back?
Here’s what you need to know.
Pokestops Are Disappearing, Even Without the Owner’s Request
More and more frequently, it seems that Pokestops are being suddenly removed. On Reddit, _TD3_ posted the following photo that his public library shared:
Library wanting its Pokestops back. (Reddit/_TD3_)
The library reported that four Pokestops had been removed and the library did not request any of the removals. The library wrote online: “We love Pokemon–so much that we have over 150 Pokemon graphic novel and DVD titles in our collection!”
Prior to the Pokestops’ removal, _TD3_ wrote that lures were constantly on and the library was enjoying increased traffic from trainers’ coming to visit. The library even offered free charging stations to encourage players to come by. The library director sent a complaint to Niantic, asking for the stops to be returned.
The same thing is happening in South Carolina, where the State House became a Pokemon GO hotspot until all the stops were recently removed. The South Carolina Department of Administration and the Department of Public Safety both said they had not requested the stops’ removal. Even South Carolina’s governor tweeted Niantic, asking for the restrictions to be lifted:
.@NianticLabs South Carolina always welcomes everyone to our Statehouse. We ask that you lift any recent #pokemongo restrictions!
According to players on Reddit, it doesn’t take much to have a Pokestop removed. In fact, just one complaint might be able to get a stop taken down, players on Reddit are suggesting. Niantic may also not be verifying if the complaints are coming from owners or operators of the Pokestop locations.
Redditor ultrasuperman1001 wrote that he’s in a rural area, and one of his neighbors had a gym in his back yard, when it was supposed to be across the street. “He sent a request asking for it to be moved to its correct spot (he even said in the additional comments ‘don’t delete it please just move it’) and they just deleted it. The next closest gym is 50 km away.”
Pokemon GO Lawsuits May Be Partially to Blame
Some Pokemon GO users suspect that recent lawsuits may be playing a role in Niantic’s quick response to removal requests. A resident of New Jersey, for example, has filed a class action suit against Niantic, Nintendo, and The Pokemon Company, claiming the game profits off people entering private property without permission, including his home. You can read the lawsuit filing on Scribd here.
Niantic Had Rules for Removing Ingress Portals, and Pokemon GO May Be Similar
Pokemon GO has a support page where you can request the removal of a Pokestop or gym. This page does not specify why a Pokestop can be removed. However, Ingress has posted a list of reasons why a portal can be removed. This is relevant to Pokemon GO because Niantic developed and runs both games, and used the same portals for creating the original Pokestops and gyms. According to Ingress’s website, a stop can be removed if it’s on private residential property, at an elementary or secondary school, is a duplicate, or the location no longer exists.
These reasons still don’t explain why Pokestops are being removed that don’t fall under any of these categories. In addition, players have noticed that some Pokestops are being removed while their Ingress counterpart portals have remained. For example, Redditor Korben_Reynolds noted that four gyms and 21 stops were removed from a cemetery at the owner’s request, but the Ingress portals are still in place.
You Can Complain Online About a Removed Stop
For a very brief period of time, Niantic accepted submissions of new gyms and Pokestop locations. But now that option is gone. Instead, owners of locations where Pokestops were removed are resorting to submitting a complaint to Pokemon GO, either by tweeting to Niantic Labs on Twitter or filling out a complaint form on Niantic’s support page here.
It’s unknown yet if any of these complaints have received responses or if Pokemon gyms or Pokestops have been reinstated. But it’s definitely worth a try if your Pokestop was removed. The Pokemon Go subreddit has mentioned in the past that a user claimed he filed a report using ingame support and had a few Pokestops and gyms added to his small town. Another Redditor reported he did the same and got an email back saying they would respond once they decided what to do.
Niantic Is Planning to Let Businesses Pay to Become Sponsored Locations
One theory currently circulating is that Niantic is going to get more revenue by giving businesses an option of paying to become Pokestops, and this is why some stops are being removed. A couple weeks ago, The New York Times reported that Niantic is indeed looking into having “sponsored locations” in Pokemon GO where players can go to pick up virtual items. This was already done in Ingress, and John Hanke, Niantic’s chief executive, said that sponsored locations will be announced in the future for Pokemon GO too. If this happens soon, that could be a reason why some Pokestops are being removed at a faster pace.
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