What Were You Really Doing Playing Pokémon GO?

Part of the Big Tech's War on Users series and the Insert Coin gaming arc — because this one started as a game and ended as a surveillance pipeline, so it earned both. Remember Pokémon GO? Summer of 2016. People were walking into traffic, trespassing in cemeteries, and wandering into strangers' backyards — all to catch a cartoon creature on their phone. It was absurd and charming and I'd be lying if I said I didn't at least try it. But here's the thing nobody was asking at the time: what was Niantic really building? Turns out — a military targeting system. Enjoy your Pokéballs. The Setup Starting around 2020, Niantic rolled out "AR Mapping tasks" — later branded as Powered-Up PokéStops — where players could scan real-world locations with their cameras in exchange for in-game rewards. Totally optional. Totally innocuous. Just point your phone at that park bench or gym entrance and collect your bonus items. Except what you were really doing was feeding a machine. Over the years, players…