Upcoming Changes to the Ingress Community Forum

NianticOfficial · March 26

Greetings Agents,

We want to share with you a recent decision the team has come to with regards to the future of the Niantic-hosted Ingress community forum. On Monday, 15 April 2024, the Ingress forum will be shut down and we will encourage Agents to use the r/Ingress/ subreddit as a place to share their stories and victories with other Agents.

This was a tough decision to make but we feel this will be better in the long run.

Why the change?

As we reflect on the last four and a half years with the forum, there were a lot of positive and exciting moments–from media drops and puzzles to the introduction of the XMAs and discussions around live events. There were a handful of factors but despite all of its benefits, the forum has been unsuccessful in replacing Google+ in providing a shared space for Agents to gather and connect. There are many existing, thriving communities such as the r/Ingress subreddit which we feel serve the Ingress community just as well, if not better.

With this change, we will be able to spend our energy fostering existing communities, and focusing on improving and growing the game. Agents are encouraged to continue to reach out to Niantic with feedback via Support and social media.

Here is what to expect in the upcoming weeks:

community.ingress.com will become read-only on Monday, 1 April 2024.
community.ingress.com will close on Monday, 15 April 2024.
References to community.ingress.com will be removed from Scanner targeted Wednesday, 10 April 2024.

What will happen to my forum content?

All of the content on community.ingress.com will be deleted after the forum closes on Monday, 15 April 2024. We encourage Agents to please make sure to screenshot your favorite content or use tools such as the Wayback Machine to save and access content in the future.

How can I share my feedback with Niantic?

The team actively monitors various Agent communities across platforms including, but not limited to in-App support, /r/Ingress, X, and numerous Telegram communities. The Ingress team is also looking at ways it can engage with the community regularly such as hosting AMAs on reddit, Dev Diaries, and more.

What about the Vanguard and XMA programs?

Both the Vanguards and XMAs have been wonderful and helpful contributors to the Ingress team and we are so grateful for their contributions. However, as we look forward, it is becoming clear that these programs are in need of a revamping. Effective 15 April 2024, both the Vanguard and XMA programs will be retired in their current form and we will relaunch a new, unified Player Ambassador program before the end of 2024.

A number of Vanguards have opted-in to staying on until the new program is launched and will be available for player inquiries as well as providing feedback and advice to Niantic on updates being made to support as a result of the forum shutdown. Those Vanguards staying on are:

ATR0P0S (ENL)
OndermanCZ (ENL)
to1027me (ENL)
VAIN (ENL)
Azhreia (RES)
Hhhipppo (RES)
IkaruMaru (RES)
K4l3v (RES)
VanJeffery (RES)

We appreciate the work that both the Vanguards and XMAs contributed more than we can articulate in words. Their efforts have helped Niantic better understand the Ingress player base - from their feedback on events and features, escalating Scanner issues, cheat reports and gameboard restoration requests, and more - their behind-the-scenes advocacy was top notch. Player advocates like the Vanguards and XM Ambassadors make Ingress better, and we’re working to create a new Player Ambassador program in ways that reflect this.

There is a lot to do in the upcoming 3 weeks to prepare for the forum closure and we thank you for your patience as we get there.

-The Ingress Team

FAQs

How do I report bugs?

The Ingress team is still very invested in investigating and resolving bugs that players report. Each bug report that is submitted through in-app reporting will be reviewed by our team. Depending on severity and impact, the team will prioritize bugs for fixes. We plan on implementing an easier and more streamlined way to report game issues in the future.

I am concerned my cheat reports will not be addressed.

The Ingress team takes cheat reports and any other report regarding the fairness and safety of our game seriously. If you have something to report, please report it in-app. The team is also investigating improvements to report flows to make it easier for players to make such reports.

How do we get portals restored?

Please refer to this FAQ for information on gameboard restorations: https://niantic.helpshift.com/hc/en/3-ingress/faq/4373-portal-restoration-program-reversing-the-actions-of-banned-players/

How do we report event issues?

Event concerns can continue to be escalated via the event’s Enlightened and/or Resistance POC (point of contact). You may also reach out to one of the Vanguards who have remained on board.