A question of privacy

Quick question. Is it ok for me to doxx other players and publish their personal information such as name and license plate number in comms?

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  • ZeroHecksGivenZeroHecksGiven ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2022

    Of course not. Report the player and block them. I had my personal information shared recently. On one hand, I'm flattered, on the other hand, super creepy and kinda scary. But hey, my motto is "eff around and find out..."


    Took a look at the chats, I'm guessing there is more to this story, on either side. Good luck

  • wrexorwrexor ✭✭

    I'm personally not a fan of blocking. I've heard rumors that it helps, and really hope that's not a requirement for getting things dealt with. How will I know when my information has been leaked if I just ignore the person leaking it? It's like telling victims of financial fraud to stop looking at their bank statements.

    Not a jab at you 0hecks, I appreciate the sentiment. The canned reply also says to block the offending agent.

  • Blocking the player would accomplish nothing except prevent us from seeing any other personal information that is published. Meanwhile the rest of the world can still see personal details in comms for the next several months until they eventually scroll away. This is a huge breach of privacy and Niantic refuses to do anything about it. At a bare minimum they should be removing those particular messages from comms.

  • Niantic regularly uses blocking as an indication that an agent is serious about not wanting to interact with another. If an agent is blocked, then undertakes more acctions to interfere or engage with the person that blocked them, they regularly face bans in either comms or entirely, for harassment.

    The problem is that your sentiment is exactly why these harassers are allowed to continue harassing. Because if you didn't want them to engage with you, you wouldn't allow them to continue.

  • RostwoldRostwold ✭✭✭✭✭

    In my part of the world, it's not just 'not ok', it's illegal.

  • wrexorwrexor ✭✭

    Are women who wear mini skirts allowing men to harrass them?

    No offense but you're missing the point. I'm not complaining that he's harassing me, I'm complaining that my personal information is being shared, by Niantic, and Niantic is refusing to delete it.

    Not only are they violating their own privacy policy, but also the Canadian pipeda act which they are obligated to observe should they wish to do business in Canada.

  • wrexorwrexor ✭✭

    Also please explain to me in what world it is ok for someone to doxx me because I haven't blocked them???

  • LynoocsLynoocs ✭✭✭

    NO, Niantic SAYS that they do. Just like they say reporting works, which we all know is not true.

  • Keep reporting. Hopefully he eventually gets banned.

    I'm close enough to you to see some of the chats from yesterday, doesn't matter what is going on between you and the other player, they cannot share your private info. That is too far and they should have a comms ban.

  • I didn't say it was ok. I just explained how Niantic 'works'.

  • wrexorwrexor ✭✭

    That's fair, and I don't disagree with that. But if it's true, then how Niantic 'works' is broken. What's to stop me from creating 50 alt accounts to block people I report? It encourages people to cheat and rewards them for it.

    I've seen comm bans over some very trivial things, but when someone doxes me or tells my girlfriend she's "bobbing someone's knob" absolutely nothing happens.

    Perhaps a better solution might be to ACTUALLY read what a person has said rather than just rely on how many people have blocked them.

    Regardless, that's not the issue I'm trying to solve. All I want is for my personal information to be deleted from the comms log, and I really don't think that's an unreasonable expectation.

  • wrexorwrexor ✭✭

    So this has been the response from Niantic.

    I find it borderline insulting to be told that you can't delete posts from comms as I've literally seen it done numerous times, and I know I'm not the only one. Messages getting deleted is really the only way we can tell when our reports are taken seriously. Is this reply a mistake or am I just being outright lied to?

    I'm not going to let this go until my information is removed. If it can't be done by asking nicely, I will file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and begin to investigate my options for legal recourse.

    @NianticThia @NianticBrian can one of you please at least acknowledge?

  • Since Niantic is not based in Canada and didn't collect or share your info PIPEDA may not apply to them. Naugus is the one who shared your private info on Niantic's platform, not Niantic themselves.

    They'll need to see if it applies to Niantic, fill out their online form and find out. It's worth a shot. The forums here are read by Niantic, you don't need to wait.

    https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/contact-the-opc/contact-the-information-centre/

  • SSSputnikSSSputnik ✭✭✭✭✭

    You should still be able to request your data be deleted from a platform under most countries data privacy laws.

  • wrexorwrexor ✭✭

    I've been looking into it, pipeda applies to anyone who wants to do business in Canada or across it's national borders. There are some exemptions for political parties and non profit organizations, artistic or journalistic content etc. But I think his post is user generated content, so while they did not collect it from me, they still collected it, albeit unintentionally. But it is now being served by Niantic everytime someone loads comms, and I've made it clear I don't consent. Consent seems to be the name of the game with pipeda.

    I can appreciate that it is impossible for Niantic to prevent this sort of thing and it's unreasonable for me to expect them to prevent it. However it not unreasonable to expect it to be removed once I voice my concern.

    And thank you, I think you are right, Niantic should read their own forums. I should not need to wait for a response before contacting the commissioners office.

  • Most of those laws are for data you supplied or was collect by a company/organisation/charity/political party/government then mishandled by them. Since this was posted by a private individual, not requesting/suggesting/hinting at anyone to do anything legally wrong, there may not be any laws against it. OPC will know his best options once he fills out the form and they respond back.

  • Bryan8916Bryan8916 ✭✭
    edited July 2022

    Was there anything that ever came from this? @wrexor

  • TheKingEngineTheKingEngine ✭✭✭✭✭

    That's because in current system only collective reports will work. Reports filed by only yourself won't get noticed.

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