Hey Trainers! If your recent PokéStop submissions have been behaving strangely—like being mysteriously approved or rejected—you’re not alone. Niantic has traced the issue to eMILy, their machine learning system designed to pre-screen submissions.

eMILy’s role is to assist with reviewing PokéStop nominations by identifying clear hits and misses. However, a glitch has caused it to auto-accept some submissions incorrectly and auto-reject others unfairly. To address this, Niantic has disabled the auto-accept feature while the auto-reject system remains active.

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Niantic’s Update on eMILy

Niantic recently addressed the issue in their Wayfarer forums:

Hello Explorers,

We’ve identified an issue with eMILy, our Machine Learning system, that caused incorrect auto-accept and auto-reject decisions. To avoid further disruptions, we temporarily disabled both features while investigating.

The auto-reject system has since been restored, but the fix for the auto-accept functionality will take more time to develop and deploy. Meanwhile, nominations and edits not flagged for rejection will continue to be reviewed by the community.

Thank you for your patience, and a special thanks to the community and Ambassadors for bringing this to our attention. Your feedback was invaluable in resolving this.

— The Wayfarer Team

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A Glimpse Into eMILy’s History

Not familiar with eMILy? Niantic introduced this machine learning model back in 2023 to improve the PokéStop submission process. By 2024, it had been upgraded to auto-accept high-quality submissions, reducing the burden on human reviewers.

Here’s what eMILy was designed to do:

• Speedier Approvals: Auto-accept clear-cut, high-quality submissions.
• Seamless Collaboration: Work alongside human reviewers, learning from their decisions.
• Better Appeal Times: The appeal period for rejected submissions was reduced from 30 to 20 days.

While eMILy brought exciting improvements, the current glitch has highlighted the challenges of relying on AI for nuanced decisions.

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What This Means for You

For now, the human reviewers in the Wayfarer community will handle all submissions not flagged by the auto-reject system. This ensures fairer and more accurate evaluations while Niantic works on fixing eMILy.

To increase your chances of getting your PokéStop nomination approved:

1. Stick to the Guidelines: Double-check Wayfarer’s criteria for submissions.
2. Submit High-Quality Photos: Clear, well-lit images go a long way.
3. Provide Detailed Descriptions: Be specific about the significance of your nomination.

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What’s Next?

Niantic hasn’t given a specific timeline for eMILy’s full restoration, but they’re actively working on a fix. They’ve assured players that transparency and community involvement remain top priorities during this process.

While eMILy takes a break, it’s business as usual for the Wayfarer community. Keep submitting your best PokéStop ideas and be patient—it’s all part of the journey toward a better system. Let’s continue exploring and building together, Trainers!