The ban concerns security risks arising from Pokémon GO .
About 70,000 employees were informed by Volkswagen that playing Pokémon GO puts the company at risk. Because the Pokémon app supports location tracking and camera usage, playing the app could result in trade secrets being revealed to third parties. Employees are now prohibited from using Pokémon GO during work hours and on company premises.
Employees were informed about security risks via email
In the email, employees were informed, for example, that Pokémon GO uses “geo-tracking”. With geo-tracking, the player’s location is recorded during gameplay. This information is stored on Pokémon GO servers and, according to the app’s terms of use, may be shared with third parties. Furthermore, sensitive information can be transmitted to third parties via the camera function when sharing catches via screenshot with friends or on the internet.
Due to these risks, the email explains that Pokémon GO cannot be used during work hours. Pokémon GO must not be installed on company-provided devices such as smartphones or tablets. Additionally, there is a general photography ban for non-business purposes on the company premises.
In other companies, however, statues are built to entice Niantic to provide a PokéStop nearby.
