Pokémon GO has unleashed a major wave of bans. This primarily affects users of a cheating app, who are now partially permanently banned.
Cheaters report: In various forums, cheaters from Pokémon GO report that they have been banned or temporarily suspended. Apparently, the users of the “iSpoofer” app are affected.
This is another major blow against spoofers, who have been targeted by Niantic for quite some time.
Important step against spoofers
What are spoofers? These players cheat in Pokémon GO by manipulating their location. They can sit at home on the couch but virtually travel in the game to New York or Tokyo.
To do this, cheaters use specific apps that can change the location while accessing Pokémon GO. This is against Pokémon GO’s guidelines and is punished with bans by Niantic.
How significant was this blow: This time, Apple users were primarily affected. If you know how, spoofing on Apple devices works quite easily. However, some users are now likely completely banned, and other cheaters may be somewhat intimidated.
It also shows that Niantic recognizes when a player uses such an app. Currently, it seems only randomly selected users of iSpoofer are affected. They haven’t banned all users immediately.
Last year, Niantic already reported significant successes against cheaters.
What does the ban look like? Niantic has several stages of bans. Initially, you get a warning that you have been caught and should stop such activities. Then a 30-day ban follows. If you get caught again after that, the account gets fully banned.
Depending on how often a cheater has been caught, the punishment varies. Forums report hundreds of permanent bans. Thus, there are likely fewer spoofers out there.
What does this mean for the players? If you have cheated yourself and did not use the “iSpoofer” app, you should still not feel too safe. Niantic regularly takes action against such cheat suppliers. Recently, they even sued a provider.
For normal players, it may now be a bit quieter in your city. Of course, many cheaters are still out there, but they may soon be in trouble.
Pokémon GO is currently also struggling with nasty bugs with Shinies:
