"The game is produced by Niantic Labs, founded by one of the creators of Google Earth John Hanke."
Sooo google is behind this, but not really secretly
Also I don't know if this is a requirement, but that pokeball shaped thingy actually has a function:
"Pokémon Go Plus connects via bluetooth and notifies the player of any nearby Pokémon, it worn on the wrist & as a clip-on"