Pokemon Go Update for iOS Fixes Google Account Privacy Issues

Pokémon Go for iOS doesn’t have quite as much access to your Google account as some gamers have feared, but it’s clear that Niantic isn’t wasting time trying to assuage your concerns.

Niantic Labs has pushed the game’s first update, version 1.0.1, on iOS, which fixes a variety of bugs including the game’s permissions issue for players logging in with their Google accounts.

Earlier this week, players discovered that signing in with a Google account granted the developer full access to that account, including location data, recent web browsing information, and the ability to both read and write email. Niantic responded to the news on Monday, clarifying that the game only gathered player usernames and email addresses, and calling the scope of the access “an error.”

Ari Rubinstein, a security engineer at Slack Technologies Inc., discovered that Niantic doesn’t collect any data from a user’s Google account other than their username and email address.

After issuing the update for iOS, Niantic’s new permission request only asks for “basic Google profile information, in line with the data that we actually access.” When you log in to the game after installing the patch, the game only requests access to your username and email.

If you’re still paranoid about the security issue, you can revoke the game’s access to your Google account. Then you can download the update and sign into your Google account again, after which you will see the permissions change on Google’s security page. Revoking the game’s Google account access should not cause you to lose progress in the game.

In addition to the security issue, the update also fixed a login bug that forced players to re-enter their username and password after a forced log out, fixed instability issues for players who logged in with a Pokémon Trainer Club account, and patched out miscellaneous “issues causing crashes.”

Users can now download the patch through the iOS App Store.