Maybe your neighbors have started to worry about you, after seeing you book it out of your front door in the middle of the night, simply to stand in your yard and point your phone at something that isn’t really there. Then again, given the current trend of playing Pokemon Go, your neighbor might actually not be that worried — in fact, he might be out there playing, too. It’s a hide and seek game for the new generation, hunting Pokemon in an altered reality smartphone game that involves GPS tracking and spotting the little buggers in real-life locations. However, there might be a reason to put down the Doduos and Charlizards and join the real world — and it’s not just because your boss is sick of you hunting for them in the break room. No, there might be a far more insidious reason to quit playing and protect your privacy. Learn more about this troubling possibility below.It involves using your smartphone to hunt Pokemon in your neighborhood, and to say it’s a craze would be an understatement.
But it’s not the nineties anymore — Pokemon has gotten real.
While Pokémon Go users are collecting all 150 of the game’s fictional species of creatures, the game creators (Niantic and Nintendo) are gaining access to and collecting a lot of your personal information.
That means you’re connected to wifi, possibly sharing your location and other private info that’ on your device.
Most users accepted a level of invasive monitoring willingly, given the game is about GPS-based hunting. It’s kind of a way to put a little tracker on yourself at all times.
No, the possible info being shared is a lot deeper than that.
You may have unknowingly given Nintendo and developer Niantic full account access.
Emails, photos, documents, all of your past location and search history: it can see all of this stuff, from even before you started playing the game.
And not necessarily safe emails, either: Think hackers, spam, red flags, and more.
Sometimes, a Pokemon isn’t just a Pokemon — and while you’re hunting for them, the game creators might be hunting for you.
