I know military are a huge point of discussion when it comes to making Wayspots. The last guidance I saw was that residential areas of bases are allowed, as long as they don’t interfere with military or emergency operations. I was stationed at Osan Air Base in South Korea shortly after the game started and departed in 2019 - we had a decent amount of Wayspots to include the base housing, bowling alley and hotel. When I returned to visit in 2022, I noticed all of the spots on base were removed - literally everything within the gates. I originally thought this was a request from the base leadership (which completely turns over every two-to-three years) due to security issues or other items, however, I don’t think this is the case. The other Air Base, along with other service bases in Korea and Japan still have all their Wayspots and are still growing.
I looked into a Facebook group from Osan Air Base servicemembers and locals that work for the base and one local claims that the spots were removed due to a dispute in the game Ingress. The member claimed that the Resistance (blue) mass reported the Enlightened (Green) for ‘improper gameplay’ and all Wayspots were removed from Osan, along with Suwon - a ROKAF base within the proximity. An Army base - Camp Humphreys - about 20 minutes away still has all their Wayspots.
Is there any way to look into exactly WHY they were removed? If it was a base leader citing security concerns - I totally get it. They have the right to request removal if they think it helps national security. If it was in fact a bunch of angry local Korean Ingress users falsely claiming ‘Improper Gameplay’ and ruining it for those who had base access - is there a way to overturn it?
I have a small chance of going back in the next two years, but I also have family there. If I have an opportunity to help rebuild that community, I’d love to try to do so!
For everything to be removed, I would strongly suspect this was a request from officials. Ingress is no longer associated with Wayfarer since May 2025. Staff will have to confirm this.
That really does sound like Niantic (now Niantic Spatial or Scopely Explore) marked the entire area due to an owner request.
Scopely Explore will often confirm this, but will not provide details or say what the owner was. This can make it hard to get the property owner to withdraw their request (if they were willing), since you might ask the base leader but it was actually head office.
According to the Facebook post that discusses the spots being removed, this happened just after December 2019 - back when they were all integrated.
How would I find out if this was a base request or a mass faulty reporting by salty ingress players.
I just checked an Ingress map, and it looks like portals are still there if I have found the right spot. I do not think this is an issue from Ingress.
If this WAS a base request - which I’m getting more certain was NOT - since it also happened at a Korean base nearby as well. Anyone who requested this has long since departed - the whole base tends to turn-over every 2-4 years, so no one who was a part of this would still be there. Also, going into a base commander’s office and asking about Pokemon Go is NOT a top priority.
There are only two ways an entire area can be cleared of active pokestops
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Property owner (or equivalent) requests that Scopely Explore remove them/deactivate them.
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Removal requests are made by wayfarers/players for each and every wayspot, with these being evaluated against removal criteria.
It is vanishingly unlikely for the second to occur - you would find a scattering of eligible wayspots left behind even if this was attempted.
I looked there as well - so I assume you have the right location. There are still a LOT of spots missing from what I remember. I think some of these may have been re-added but I can’t confirm.
Check the wayfarer map at Niantic Wayfarer
For any pokestops which exist, you can click on them to see when they were added. If no date is shown, which happens for older wayspots, you can check the dates of the photos.
If Scopely Explore block out an area, no pokestops can get added. Wayspots might, but they won’t be activated.
There are 20 Wayspots here which are consistent with Wayspots removed by staff at the request of property owners. The area covers the entire blurred area on Google Satellite.
Some of the removed ones includes ones approved at recently as July 2026.
If there was a request, it was possible the request was made at a higher level up than the one base. It may be that no one at that particular base was involved.
Hey @DiscoNinja610 ,
Welcome to the Wayfarer Community Forum.
The Wayspots were removed at the request of the property owner.
Thanks,