The intel map is a web application operated by Niantic Labs which can be used to view any portal, linkcontrol field or artifact in the world. It also lets you view your AP and XM, use the comm, redeem passcodes, send invites, and view missions and anomaly clusters.

Basic Map Features

The intel map can be viewed on both desktop and mobile devices. The rest of this article describes the desktop version, but be aware that the mobile version lacks some of these features. Note that you must sign in with the account you use for Ingress to view the intel map.

When you first sign in, it will be zoomed out so that you can see the whole world. You can pan and zoom to find a particular location, or tap the geolocation button (crosshairs) to center and zoom in on your device’s location. Keep in mind that it can take some time to load all the map data. As you move around, the cell located at the center of your view will be outlined in orange, although you may have to zoom out to see it.

If you click on a portal on the intel map, you will see most of the details that you can see on the portal information card in the scanner app. This includes the name of the portal; its photo; its current alignment, level and owner; any artifacts which may be present at the portal; the level, energy and owner of each resonator; and (if you click the appropriate tab) the type, rarity and owner of each of the portal’s mods, along with the benefits that they provide for the portal. There is also a button that provides driving directions to the portal. If one or more missions start at that portal, there will be a link to view them. There’s also a button to select a portal for drawing (see Drawing Tools below).

The resonators are organized as follows:

E W
NE SW
N S
NW SE

The information displayed on the map can vary depending on your zoom level. The table below shows what is displayed at each zoom level:

Zoom
level
What’s displayed
Portals Cell Links Resonators
and Missions
3-4 anchors
for
shown
links
only
no > 200 km no
5-6 yes > 60 km
7 > 10 km
8 > 5 km
9-10 > 2.5 km
11 > 800 m
12 > 300 m
13-14 all
15-21 all yes

Filters

When all portals become visible, the filters button becomes enabled. This button allows you to show additional decorations on portals or filter what portals, links, and fields are shown.

Layers

Select a layer to display additional information about portals:

  • Visited: Portals you have previously visited will be decorated with a purple circle.
  • Captured: Portals you have previously captured will be decorated with a red circle.
  • Scout Controlled: Portals you have previously scout controlled will be decorated with an orange circle. Current volatile scout controller portals will be decorated with smaller yellow circle and six rectangular markers.
  • None: None of the above decorations are displayed.

There’s an “Invert” checkbox, as well: while it is selected, the marker will appear on portals that you have not visited, captured, or scout controlled.

Faction

Use the checkboxes to show or hide portals, links, and fields according to faction alignment.

Fields

Use the checkboxes to show or hide links and fields. This can be particularly useful if fields are so heavily nested that you can’t see the map underneath.

Level

Use the selection boxes to filter display of portals to those within a range of levels. Note that neutral portals are referred to here as being level 0, although technically they’re level 1.

Health

Click on the bar to filter display of portals to those whose health is lower than a set threshold. This can help you find weak portals which will make easy targets.

Missions

The missions button at the lower-right displays a list of the top 25 missions in your map view when all portals are visible. Clicking on a mission will center the map view on the start portal and filter it to display only the portals that are part of the mission. If they must be visited in a specific order, they will be numbered and connected with lines. There is also a link to the Mission Creator Tool.

Special Decorations

Sometimes a portal will have an additional decoration on it to show that there is something special about it.

A small orange arrow displayed inside the portal indicates that it is the starting portal for a mission. (See the “Missions” section above.)

Portals holding one or more artifacts are displayed with a large highlight over the center. Selecting the portal will show which artifacts are present at that portal.

An artifact as displayed on the intel map

Target portals for artifact delivery have a segmented ring around them; the segments light up as more artifacts are delivered to them.

An artifact near a target portal on the intel map

If an anomaly event is happening or is imminent in the area you are viewing and you are zoomed in close enough, the cluster portals will be decorated with rings around them called ornaments. Each cluster has a different ornament color, and the start point and volatile portals have additional decorations on them. (Note that volatile portals may or may not be revealed on the map, depending on the anomaly rules.)

Anomaly cluster ornaments

A portal is displayed with additional decorations when there is a portal fracker (left) or a beacon (right) installed on it:

 

Drawing Tools

You can draw planned links between portals. First, select one of the anchor portals, then click the icon at the upper-right of the portal information bubble, just below the “Close” button. This will highlight the portal with an orange reticle. Now click on the other anchor portal. (The portal information bubble will appear as you mouse over each portal to help you make sure you select the right one.) This will draw an orange link between the two. Any links that would block this planned link will be highlighted with a dashed red line, although note that any links that have been filtered out due to your zoom level won’t be present on the map and therefore can’t be highlighted as blocking. Note that planned links do not consider each other to be blocking.

No blockers demo

To remove a planned link, click the orange “X” button attached to it. To remove all planned links, click the “Clear” button that appears just below the search box. Unfortunately, the planned links are not persistent: if you close the intel map and return to it, the planned links will be gone. However, the “Link” feature (described below) allows you to share any links you’ve drawn with other agents; if you bookmark that link, you can then use it to restore your drawn links later. (If you have more than 40 planned links on the map, only the last 40 will be preserved.)

Other Features

The comm panel is found at the lower-left. It works just like the one in the scanner app, with the exception that there is no range slider. Instead a checkbox allows you to filter chatter and agent actions to just those which occurred within your current map view. Only agents who are at least level 8 can send comm messages from the intel map.

At the upper-left you’ll see your agent name, current level, the amount of XM you have and the total capacity of your reserves. Hovering over the level octagon will show you how much AP you have, and how much is required for the next level.

Across the top are several additional tools and links:

  • The “Inventory” link (available only to C.O.R.E. subscribers) allows you to view your inventory and keys.
  • Clicking on “Social” displays links to the official Ingress Facebook and Twitter sites, as well as the Ingress community forums and the Niantic corporate page.
  • Next to that is a link that will pop up a window showing the latest epsiode of the Ingress Report, an Ingress news program from the official Ingress YouTube channel. (Note that as of this writing, the Ingress report has been on hiatus for several years due to the death of its host, Susanna Moyer.)
  • Below this is the total global mind unit score, just like on the intel tab of the ops screen. Below that is the regional score panel, which you can click to expand to see more scoring details for the current cell, including the precise scores at each checkpoint, the top three agents, and the time remaining until the next checkpoint.
  • On the right is a search box where you can type in location names to go to that location on the map. Note that this is powered by the same search used by Google Maps; portal names may or may not work here.
  • Above the search box are three additional items. The leftmost one is labeled “Passcode.” You can click on it to show a field where you can enter passcodes for redemption.
  • Next is the “Link” icon: this shows you a web address that you can share so that others can see the same intel map view. If you have a portal selected on the intel map, that portal will be selected automatically when people follow the link. The link will also include your planned links. (If you have more than 40 planned links visible, only the 40 most recent will be shown.)
  • Lastly is the email address associated with account you use for Ingress. Clicking on it shows a pulldown menu that lets you sign out, view the privacy policy, or visit the Ingress Help site.

History

  • 2 February 2013: Mobile support is added to the intel map. Also, agents discover a way to enter passcodes from a promotion with Zipcar en masse on the intel map. In response, Niantic removes passcode entry from the intel map. This incident is referred to by agents as “Zipcarmageddon.” occurred on 2 February 2013.
  • 18 July 2013: Portal filters are added to the intel map.
  • 16 June 2014: The date a portal was captured is removed from the portal info card on the intel map on 16 June 2014 in an effort to curb automated guardian hunting.
  • 14 August 2014: Passcode redemption from the intel map is restored.
  • 10 July 2020: Intel data loading is overhauled, resulting in the intel map loading much faster.
  • 21 August 2020: Agents below level 8 can no longer write comm messages from the intel map. This measure was taken to reduce comm spam.
  • 9 October 2020: Filters are added to allow agents to hide links and fields, and to filter portals by faction alignment.