Pokemon Go for iOS– the US store, anyway– just got an app update that claims to address some security concerns and bugs– and adds push notifications.
Here’s the relevant part of the update notes:
Thank you for your incredible response and support of Pokemon GO! We are working hard to improve the experience for everyone. This update focuses on making Pokemon GO more stable with the following improvements:
– Trainers do not have to enter their username and password repeatedly after a force log out
– Added stability to Pokemon Trainer Club account log-in process
– Resolved issues causing crashes
– Fixed Google account scope
The “Google account scope” line is a reference to the fact that Pokemon Go used to request full account access to your Google account– which means that Niantic technically had access to all the data in your emails, Google Docs, etc. Although I do not think it’s even remotely likely that Niantic was sitting around reading everyone’s emails during the chaos of their buggy launch, it’s good that they no longer claim access to the entire account.
Unfortunately, the app notes on iOS do not explain exactly how the scope of their account access has been altered, and when I check out my app permissions in my Google account, I’m still seeing this:
So although the update claims to change Google account permissions, I haven’t actually seen that status change in my account. I don’t know how I’d need to trigger that change, or whether it applies to all past signups, or only to new ones. If you see any evidence of your Google account permissions changing after this update, let us know.
When I installed the update, it also asked permission to send me push notifications. I have no idea what push notifications it’s going to start sending me– I haven’t been able to trigger any– but Ingress, Niantic’s previous app, used iOS notifications for certain alerts about PVP activity. Perhaps Pokemon Go will start telling us when our Gyms have fallen? I’d appreciate that a lot, to be honest.
If you see your account permissions for Pokemon Go change after the update, or are able able to trigger a Pokemon Go push notification, tell us in the comments!
EDIT:
If you’d like to make sure that Pokemon Go no longer has access to your full account, go to your Google account’s app permissions page and click “Remove” on the blue button next to the Pokemon Go Release info, as shown above. When you next have to reauthorize your account, it will do so under the new permissions.
