Pokémon Go has started locking players out that have root privileges on their device

When Niantic introduced Pokémon Go, many users opt for the root option to get ahead of others in the game by using gps spoofing tools and many more. In turn, now the company started blocking the users who have root privileges on their devices. With the Pokémon Go v0.115.2 of the game, the app is scanning the storage section for any clue related to rooting the device. And if found, they’re locking out the players.

One XDA Member noted this change when locked out of the game from playing after updating Pokémon Go. When they dug deeper they found that the device was once rooted a long time ago. The game finally worked after deleting all residual files related to rooting saved on the phone storage and microSD card.

After that, several players claimed that issue on Reddit. Users claimed that the game is not working even if they have empty folders related to rooting files. They also tried to not giving the permission for storage checking it may work but the issue remains the same.

Right now, it’s not clear how Niantic is getting around those files but it’s sure that they’re scavenging for the files inside the storage. And it raises a big alarm for the privacy issue for the users. While blocking rooted devices from playing Pokémon Go to prevent cheating seems pretty reasonable but scanning the user’s internal and external storage pretty unacceptable.

Source – Android Authority