I am writing to express a serious concern regarding the Wayfarer system and how it affects the gameplay experience in my neighborhood.
It is, frankly, a terrible mistake that the approval or rejection of Wayspots is left entirely in the hands of other players—players who may not know the area, may not care about the community’s needs, or may judge submissions inconsistently. This results in decisions that directly limit or damage the experience of dedicated local players like me.
My neighborhood is densely populated, yet it remains almost empty in terms of in-game activity. I have tried to revitalize the area by submitting valid, eligible Wayspots, but they are repeatedly rejected by anonymous reviewers whose decisions I cannot understand. This creates an unfair and unequal experience: my game access is determined not by the quality of my submissions, but by the personal opinions and biases of strangers.
Niantic should not allow one group of players to control the in-game experience of others—especially when their decisions can prevent entire communities from engaging with the game. A system that affects gameplay so significantly needs oversight, consistency, and fairness.
To highlight the severity of this issue, I am attaching a screenshot comparing my neighborhood with another
city. The contrast is shocking: while other areas are full of PokéStops and Gyms, my area—despite having eligible locations—remains completely neglected because of repeated, unjustified rejections by other players.
I am asking for Niantic to review this issue seriously, because leaving the fate of my neighborhood’s gameplay to other players has proven deeply harmful and discouraging. It should not be up to random reviewers to decide whether my area has a fair chance to participate in Pokémon GO.
Thank you for your attention. I hope you will address this important issue and restore fairness for all players.
Reviewers on Wayfarer have guidelines to follow around what is eligible/acceptable and not. They’re not rejecting out of spite or because they don’t know your area.
The onus is on the submitter to say why the POI they’ve nominated is eligible. Wayfarer is also not only used for Pokémon GO.
That being said, can you share some of your nominations so the community can help you out and see if they are eligible or need improvements?
It is a very frustrating experience if you are trying to improve an area for a better game experience and your nominations are repeatedly rejected. Thanks for raising it.
There are different elements here that I will try to unpick.
First the distribution of pokestops/gyms and powerspots is highly variable. That reflects how it was originally designed - to reflect real world locations.
If I have understood correctly your immediate area is mainly residential? These are places throughout the world that can be hard to find real points of interest as they are nearly all peoples homes. There has been recognition by the game developers that there are places where they would like to put more in the game. See this article for something that is ongoing
So the game developers are aware and looking at the situation.
Your second picture is a highly unusual situation. Try not to compare your place to somewhere else. But do try to make the most of what you have.
This is where wayfarer comes in and where the community here can try to help.
If you feel comfortable to share your broad location we can have a look and make suggestions.
If you can share some of your nominations that you would like to understand what the issue is please post them in full - both photos, all the text, location and reasons for rejection - we will try to help explain and if possible improve.
Thank you so much for sharing this update — it truly made my day.
I’m really happy to hear that Niantic is testing new Wayspots in inactive areas. I live in a densely populated area that has almost no Wayspots at all, and for the first time, I honestly feel hopeful — and heard.
With all my heart, I wish my neighborhood could be included in this experiment. I would gladly help in any way I can, whether it’s providing feedback or assisting in identifying safe, pedestrian-friendly locations. Improving accessibility here would completely transform the local gameplay experience.
Thank you again for taking the time to respond.
It’s honestly the first time I’ve felt that someone at Niantic is listening.
And just to be clear I am a fellow wayfinder not Niantic staff.
Would it be possible please to cut and paste the text so we can use the translation tools easily - you are also welcome to post in your own language if that is easier.
What we will be looking for is how good a fit the place is against the key criteria
Is it a great place to….
Exercise - it’s a place you would exercise for example a sport facility or a specific trail to follow
Explore - it’s a place that is interesting/infomative for example an information board or a notable feature.
Socialise - a place were you would go to spend time with others for example a community centre or a cafe.
Thank you kindly for all the precious support.
In deed In my area, the “rehabilitation centre” refers to a local physiotherapy and wellness center that focuses on mobility, strength and functional recovery — not a medical or clinical treatment facility.
It has several small rooms where visitors work with equipment or receive guidance for improving movement, posture, balance, flexibility, etc.
There is a dedicated exercise area with mats and functional-training tools. It’s used for stretching, strengthening, and guided exercise sessions — similar to wellness or functional-fitness rooms.
There is a waiting/lounge area where visitors often talk, interact and share progress. It naturally works as a small community meeting point since many locals use the center regularly.
No medical doctors, no clinical or invasive therapies — just wellness, mobility improvement, and functional exercise.
I tried to submit a plaque at a physio and rehabilitation centre at a hospital that was opened by a famous Olympian from the area and it was rejected due to being a “sensitive area” and again on appeal.
Despite the area essentially being a large gym with some smaller treatment rooms (and the plaque not even being inside it), I was rejected
So I think that “a great place to exercise” doesn’t include places for physiotherapy but I absolutely cannot explain to you why that might be. Sadly I think this criteria only focuses on gyms, parks football fields, tennis courts etc - that kind of thing - rather than specialist physiotherapy facilities
Thank you everyone for taking the time to help.
I’ll try one last time with everything I have available to make my neighborhood more engaging. I know it’s not perfect, but it’s truly the best I can do with the current conditions.
I’m really looking forward to seeing new Wayspots in the area.
If there’s anything you can suggest to the Niantic staff on my behalf, please remember me. Your guidance means a lot.
Thanks again for all your support and Merry Christmas
My only suggestion would be to create a thread in “Nomination Support” showing the images, Title, Description and Supplemental.
The wayfarers here will suggest if any changes will improve it’s chance (unfortunately, you may be informed that it’s a no go but at least it saves time).
Post 1, take on board the suggestions, nominate, report your result. If it isn’t the outcome you with there will be more suggestions on how to try again.
Then make a new thread for the next one. Soon you will not need the advice and your success will improve.
Personally I have no interest in going out and flooding the nominations. I have about 30 Accepts in the last year (only a couple of Full Stop Rejects which I don’t plan on trying again). This way I have had a full Year of Little Victories
Great place for exercise
