Pokémon Go is the new game that has everyone talking. Everywhere you go someone is trying to "catch 'em all." Don't get me wrong, there are many positive sides to Pokémon Go. I'm not here to bash Pokémon because I love it, but I haven't downloaded the new game for many reasons.
First of all, there is idea that if you set up your game with a Gmail account, you are granting the games creator, Niantic, full access to your Google accounts. An article on Teen Vogue said,
"According to Adam Reeve, a cybersecurity expert called attention to a blog post, noting that, once you grant the game “full account access” with your Google login, both Niantic and Pokémon Go can read and send emails from your account, access anything saved in your Google drive and Google Photos and view your search history, in addition to viewing any personal data associated with your Google login and other apps you have connected to Google"
Personally, that freaks me out. Why does Google need all of that information? Since this news came about it has been said that in an update of the game this issue will be fixed. Niantic has also released this statement:
“We recently discovered that the Pokémon Go account creation process on iOS erroneously requests full access permission for the user's Google account," the company said. "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."
Now the idea of the game is to get you walking, which I get. However, there is a time and a place to go Pokémon searching. The Holocaust Museum and the World Trade Center (among many others) are not the place to be doing so. I've heard from players of the game that there are Pokémon at the World Trade Center. To me, if you're at the World Trade Center to visit the memorials, you shouldn't be on your phone at all, let alone playing Pokémon Go.
The game itself is based on location; in my opinion I think there should be places that are off limits for Pokémon to be. Places like: memorials, houses of faith, etc.
In response to the overwhelming number of complaints on the issue, Niantic said this:
“If you want to report inappropriate locations or content, please submit a ticket on the Pokémon Go Support website.”
There's a time and a place for Pokémon Go so be mindful and respectful of your surroundings.
Like I stated in the beginning, I'm not here to bash Pokémon or even Pokémon Go for that matter. Every game has pros and cons, these are just two cons that make my blood boil. I haven't completely written this game off yet because it's brand new, so there's room for improvement. If you want to play the game, obviously no one is going to stop you, but be smart and safe while catching Pokémon.
