Miitomo, the Data Miner

Miitomo is Nintendo’s new idea which may sound fun on the outside, but have you actually read and understand what it does? Just look on the pre-registration page and the bit at the bottom that says, “What is Miimoto?”, lets see what it is.

Now, I don’t want to come across as some miserable old man who pokes holes in everything just because it’s new and hip and fun or whatever, I want people to look at this from a safety point of view. Cortana, how does that work? It gathers as much information about you which is sent to Microsoft to supposedly provide you with a better service.
Miitomo
So what does Cortana have to do with Miitomo? Let’s copy and paste that text from the Nintendo pre-registration page…

Miitomo is an app from Nintendo that brings out a side of you your friends have never seen before!
How? By making a Mii of yourself that’s your personal go-between!
Ever wonder what fun details make you…YOU? Your Mii will find out by asking you questions about yourself!
Want your friends to know all about these little insights into your likes, dislikes, or just what you’re thinking lately? Your Mii will go visit your friends’ Mii characters and tell them!
Then your Mii will ask your friends for fun details about them…and tell YOU everything. Your friends’ Mii characters will also visit you when you play!
Miitomo is a new way to bring you and your friends together like never before. Would you expect anything less from Nintendo?

I’ve highlighted in bold the parts I’m referring to. The way it works is by, essentially, mining data about you, asking questions to pass on to any friends who want to know. The way it will work is all the answers to the questions will be kept on servers and who knows just what questions are asked? Kids are fairly uninhibited and will pretty much answer anything and everything, to me, that’s a safety concern.
The questions could uncover answers which lead to personal things people use for passwords, a pet’s name is one of the most common of these. This is what makes me most dubious about things like this and it seems that it’s becoming a more common thing. Google Now is something I’ve recently been made more aware of and that’s like Google’s version of Cortana.
Everyone is out for your information and the more personal, the better. I’m not telling anyone not to pre-register, the choice is entirely yours, the purpose of this post is to bring attention to the way your data is collected and so to be wary of any information you give.
I won’t be participating, so if you see my name, MGaceman or Mentalaceman on Miitomo, I assure you it’s not me.
So I decided what the heck, Nintendo already have a little information about me, so I downloaded the app and connected my NNID.

Here's my #Miitomo if you want to add me! #Nintendo #Mii #gaming #Mobile #App

A photo posted by aceman (@mg_aceman) on


If you would like to check it out, visit https://my.nintendo.com/.