Pokemon Go maker addresses Google account access scare
It looks like it's safe to go back into the Pokemon Gyms and PokeStops, as Pokemon Go maker Niantic has addressed concerns that it has unfettered access to Google accounts of those who signed up for the popular mobile game via their iOS devices.
(Those who have signed up for Pokemon Go via the Pokemon Trainer Club weren't threatened with the security/privacy issue, but it has proven difficult for some to get through the crowded Trainer Club servers.)
Niantic, looking to assuage fears that it can read/send from your Gmail account and dip into your Google Docs, has issued the following statement:
Permissions update
We recently discovered that the Pokémon GO account creation process on iOS erroneously requests full access permission for the user’s Google account. However, Pokémon GO only accesses basic Google profile information (specifically, your User ID and email address) and no other Google account information is or has been accessed or collected. Once we became aware of this error, we began working on a client-side fix to request permission for only basic Google profile information, in line with the data that we actually access. Google has verified that no other information has been received or accessed by Pokémon GO or Niantic. Google will soon reduce Pokémon GO’s permission to only the basic profile data that Pokémon GO needs, and users do not need to take any actions themselves.
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