Pokémon Go making privacy fix after erroneous access requests

Google will soon reduce the amount of information that the widely popular Pokémon Go app can collect after reports that the game was requesting “full access” to users’ Google accounts. 

One of the companies behind the game, Niantic, said neither it nor Pokémon Go ultimately accessed any of that information. The company said the permission request was added “erroneously” and that the game only accesses basic information like a user ID and email address.

{mosads}The error only affected people who used their Google account to log into the game through an iPhone. 

“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 in a statement. “Google has verified that no other information has been received or accessed by Pokémon GO or Niantic.”

The fix came after concerns that the company might have access to a person’s emails, Google Docs and other things. 

The augmented reality game has quickly rushed to the top of the charts in app stores after being release in the United States last week. Players are tasked with catching virtual Pokémon throughout their city using a GPS map feature in the app. 

Like many other apps, the game still collects a number of pieces of information on users. That includes a person’s location, IP address, operating system and web page that a user visited immediately before using the app. 

Niantic can share personally identifiable information with service providers to perform services on the company’s behalf. It can also shared aggregated and non-identifying information with third parties for research and “other purposes.”