China's MSS Warns AR Games Could Funnel 30 Billion Scans Into Military Intelligence
Updated
Updated · Global Times · Jun 29
China's MSS Warns AR Games Could Funnel 30 Billion Scans Into Military Intelligence
1 articles · Updated · Global Times · Jun 29
Summary
China's Ministry of State Security said some AR games are effectively prompting users to create high-precision 3D point-cloud scans, turning gameplay into real-time geospatial data collection.
Nearly 30 billion environmental scans were reportedly amassed by the AI company behind a leading AR mobile game, and foreign media said the data helped train models that can recognize and understand physical spaces.
The MSS said those apps gather far more than photos—GPS coordinates, altitude, device orientation and timestamps—and warned even anonymized datasets can be re-identified or exploited for foreign military projects.
Sensitive geospatial data, if obtained by foreign intelligence agencies, could be aggregated into detailed 3D models and converted into actionable intelligence that threatens national security.
The ministry urged users to grant only minimum necessary permissions, avoid scanning or checking in at sensitive sites, and be wary of survey or game-testing tasks from overseas or unknown platforms.