Got banned in Wayfarer (used 3rd party image) and now I can’t play Pokemon Go

General Discussion
21

As a Pokemon Go veteran it is just disheartening to encounter something like this. I started playing in 2016 then retired in 2017, rejoined only last year restarting the game on my AppleIr account. I got convinced to rejoin after my sister encouraged me, who is also a long time PoGo player.

I wish I knew beforehand the risks of using Wayfarer and how poor the customer support would be from Niantic. No clarity on what happened, no warning, no communication just automatically dealt with 30-day hammer ban.

Now I regret spending in this game. It’s just completely unfair being banned without any information on why it happened in the first place.

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22

I understand you’re annoyed as you don’t have an email about it. However you did agree to the Niantic Terms of Service when you opened your account which is quite clear.

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Hopefully you get an email and/or reply from staff shortly to clarify things.

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23

I’ve been mostly ignorant of all things Wayfarer, even before the new Forum came into play. Conflicting views from other Social Media Platform Groups as to what is eligible and what isn’t, and what information I needed in order to do Wayfarer properly. We all make mistakes, and sometimes do so unknowingly.

Without seeing your nomination that was flagged for abuse, we have no way of knowing for sure if that is the cause of the suspension. But as @PkmnTrainerJ has pointed out, the rules are clear when we signed up to playing these games, but Niantic can get things wrong with it’s detection systems, and it will be a case of appealing if you have a case.

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24

100%. My first few nominations were less than great (besides my first two, a giant rock and a post office which were excellent) until some Ingress Agents showed me the candidate action guide which was the criteria at that time.

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25

Did you ever change your email before it was linked to your Apple ID? This is why I ask: when the wayfarer system was backlogged, my old email would receive updates when a nomination had a decision for those decisions I had to that email.

I found nomination decisions were going to the email I had been logged into at the time of the original nomination.

I know these days I am only able to make nominations using the Gmail link. The game doesn’t let me use my Apple ID. Do you perhaps also have a Gmail also associated with your account, by chance to check?

I hope this is helpful.

26

True, it’s long been an issue, that Niantic can’t handle account email changes. Changing via Apple ID is the newest way to encounter it.
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Could you please share the information from your email “Thanks! Niantic Wayspot nomination received”? Title, description, supporting information, GPS coordinates, and pictures.

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I have responded to you in a DM. Please check it at your convenience.

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Violating Wayfarer criteria impacts not only Wayfarer and our Community, but every player of Niantic games. We have activated our new policies that allow us to administer consequences for abusive behavior that apply not only to using Wayfarer, but across ALL Niantic games and products.

Note: This is generic information and not related to this specific case.

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29

Thank you for the prompt action Aaron, and for sharing the reason why I got suspended. Thanks again.

30

Hi everyone, thank you for all the support. Aaron explained to me that the reason I got suspended is because I uploaded a third party image (of the cafe), rather than actually taking photograph. I was too lazy to go outside and take a photo when I nominated the cafe. This issue has been resolved. Thanks again everyone.

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31

Glad to hear it’s been resolved and that you now understand to use your own images.

32

Also, I think you may have posted this on The Silph Road subreddit (or it’s someone with a very similar situation).

In the spirit of stopping misinformation, can you delete the thread there and post a new one explaining what happened and what the outcome was?

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34

Yes this is a big issue. Nobody dears to nominates at all anymore in our region, everyone is being punished as a result even the legit wayfinders and players.

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35

Those that do not break the rules and play the games and do wayfarer according to ToS do not get any sanctions.

It is wholly inappropriate and fear-mongering to say otherwise.

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36

GPS drift during submission is a minor issue. Submitting a 3rd party image is a major issue. Copyright theft is a serious issue.

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37

Hope you don’t mind @NianticAaron but I unmarked your message about sending a DM as the solution to this thread and marked @sylvellior’s comment about what the issue was as the solution so it’s clearer what happened for anyone coming across the thread for the first time.

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39

That’s not true. As long as Explorers do not violate any policies, there is nothing to worry.

Moreover, you do not have all the details of this case. I have had a conversation with @sylvellior and the case now stands closed.

Having said that, we review appeals very seriously and are ready to make amends if the warning/suspension is not warranted.

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40

Classy responses here from both the original poster and from staff. Now we have a post to share going forward that this is a serious issue for Niantic.

Was the issue also solved as to why the emails were not received?

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41

I already edited the title of this post and deleted the original thread I created in Reddit, tackling the same issue.

To summarise this case:

31 Jan 2025: Nomination was made for a local cafe

03 Feb 2025: Email was received notifying me that the nomination was rejected. Rejection criteria I could remember was “abuse”.

06 Feb 2025: Appeal was raised for the rejection. I received an email acknowledging the appeal.

10 Feb 2025: Received an email notifying me that appeal was rejected.

13 Feb 2025: My PokemonGo account got suspended. Inquired in Reddit and some folks pointed me here based on how the suspension notice looked like and the auto 30-day suspension without the warning and 7-day ban. I followed the link posted by a community member here to make an appeal.

On the same day staff emailed me, and asked to resend the correct email address for the Wayfarer account. I explained that my Wayfarer account, is linked to my AppleID, so the relay email ad was probably the one visible in the system.

Before raising this concern in Wayfarer I did send an appeal to the Pokemon Go support team, thinking that the suspension was triggered in Pokemon Go. However I only received auto generated responses.

14 Feb 2025: Aaron (staff) DM’d me explaining the nature of violation made in Wayfarer and provided resolution to release my Pokemon Go account (Wayfarer remains suspended). Infraction was the use of a third party image during the initial nomination. Which I completely missed in the TOS. I was having coffee with my wife when I nominated the cafe, and didn’t bother to go outside and take an actual photograph. It’s a local coffee shop in our rural area so I just downloaded an available image online.

I was also told that a warning was sent to my email twice, but I can attest that I did not receive it. Maybe it’s another issue specific for Apple ID linked accounts? I’m not an SME for this so I really can’t tell what happened.

After the resolution I received an email from another staff stating that my Wayfarer and Gaming accounts are not suspended, and that the email serves as a warning.

I can already access my Pokemon Go account, but remain locked out of Wayfarer, which is absolutely fine. I do not intend to nominate another PokeStop again. Well not in the foreseeable future. Even now I only tried to re-log in once in Wayfarer just to view if there was any information or notice there that I missed before my account got suspended. I don’t think I’ll log again anytime soon.

Once again I’d like to thank the staff, especially Aaron, for the quick revert and prompt action. I want to highlight as well that issue was resolved in less than 24 hours.

I can assure everyone that I have no malicious intent when I submitted my PokeStop nomination, and it was an honest mistake uploading a third-party image. And also just for the record, I have never cheated in Pokemon Go nor Pikmin Bloom (e.g. spoofing and etc.)

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42

You should have access to Wayfarer as well. Could you please check now?

1 Like