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Google, developer working on 'Pokemon Go' security issue
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Niantic Labs claims Google has verified that no other information has been received or accessed by Pokemon Go or the company. (shutterstock.com/ Randy Miramontez/-)
T
he developer of popular augmented-reality game Pokemon Go, Niantic Labs, says it and Google are working on a security issue that reportedly grants full access to users' Google accounts if they use Google to sign into the game on Apple devices.
The company has released a statement addressing the issue.
“We recently discovered that the Pokemon Go account creation process on iOS [operating system on Apple iPhones and iPads] erroneously requests full access permission for the user’s Google account. However, Pokemon Go only accesses basic Google profile information [specifically, your User ID and email address] and no other Google account information is or has been 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," the company said, as quoted by Polygon.
Niantic Labs also stated that Google had verified that no other information had been received or accessed by Pokemon Go or Niantic. “Google will soon reduce Pokemon Go’s permission to only the basic profile data that Pokemon Go needs, and users do not need to take any actions themselves.”
(Read also: National Museum joins ‘Pokemon Go’ frenzy)
Prior to releasing the statement, RedOwl Analytics principal architect Adam Reeve shared his experience on his blog that when he signed in using his Google account, usually there would be an announcement stating what the app will be able to do, such as view your email address or name. “For some reason that’s not shown in this case, but I went ahead and logged in anyway,” Reeve wrote.
Later on, he went to see which permission was granted and was stunned when he read that Pokemon Go has full access to his Google account.
(Read also: Police in Missouri say teens use Pokemon Go to rob victims)
On its help page, Google stated that granting full access means you are allowing the app to see and modify nearly all information in your Google account, although it cannot change your password, delete your account, or pay with Google Wallet on your behalf.
Reeve also said that Pokemon Go and Niantic Labs could read all of a user’s emails, access their Google Drive as well as photos that are saved in Google Photos and other parts of the account. Users are advised to revoke the access and create a new Google account for the game only. (kes)
