Pokemon Go has many potential risks of revealing personal information

Players should consider when the game continuously updates geographic location, requests some strange access rights, and can steal personal information.

Pokemon Go is a game that is causing a global fever, constantly topping the App Store and Play Store charts. However, the application has also faced a lot of reactions when it interferes with some of the user's privacy rights, using Google accounts to log in.

Pokemon Go requires access to information on Google.

According to the Denver Post, publisher Niantic had to apologize to users about this issue, saying that they did not intend to read emails, contact addresses or invade other personal data. The company said the game only accessed Google IDs with users' emails. Niantic said it would adjust and limit access to information."Google has confirmed that no other information is exchanged or accessed by Pokemon Go and Niantic. Google will soon reduce Pokemon Go's profile access, allowing the game to retrieve only basic data," the game's publisher said.

Even as Niantic makes reassuring statements, players need to be wary of Pokemon Go and aware of the dangers, said Tam Vu, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver.

Mr. Vu, Master of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, is currently the Director of the Mobile Systems and Networks Laboratory atThe University of Colorado Denver (USA) was surprised by the intrusion of the Pokemon Go publisher.into Google informationHe warned users to be careful with app permissions.

“It’s the ‘trust-me’ model in security. Give me access to anything and I won’t abuse it,” Vu said. “But it’s better not to ask for access.”

There are reasons why apps ask for personal information. For example, TripAdvisor software asks for location information to mark hotel locations, cameras to record images, or transportation systems. But it would be suspicious if this app asked for access to device ID, call information, and TripAdvisor thought "this is a bug" and revoked this access.

Access to location information is the biggest concern with Pokemon Go.

Another threat is malware, as Pokemon Go was initially released in limited countries. Players, wanting to experience it early, downloaded the game from unofficial app stores, which could inadvertently bring disaster upon themselves.

You need to be wary of unofficial Pokemon Go download sites, Vu said. Hackers can inject malware, insert ads into the app, and then lure users into downloading it. One example is software called Pokemon Go Ultimate that locks gamers' phones, then forces them to click on pornographic ads on it.

But the most dangerous, according to Mr. Vu, is that the application constantly updates the location. Pokemon Go uses location information and over time the company can contact real-life players through virtual characters. "This is a serious risk of privacy loss," Mr. Vu emphasized. "Hackers can easily track and know where you are."

"There's always a trade-off between what you get and what you're willing to pay," Vu said. "If you don't care about privacy, you can play the game without worry. If not, be wary of Pokemon Go."

See also:
> Pokemon Go collects ground data
> Tips for playing Pokemon Go for people who are afraid to move

According to VNE