Trainers,
Niantic’s ban hammer has landed on Ingress cheaters caught using the Broker Guild tools for scraping and guardian hunting.
In an official statement published today, Niantic has addressed many community concerns and explained the punishment for cheaters.
Long story short, suspensions are being handed out left and right, no matter the offender’s rank in the community.
You can read the whole statement here:
It was recently brought to our attention that a third-party site has allegedly used data from Ingress without our consent. Extracting, scraping, or indexing our services or content is a violation of the Ingress Terms of Service. Niantic does not condone the use of websites or methods that have done so.
We are evaluating all options to protect our users, our game, and our rights and will take further action where appropriate. We are also reviewing the long-term plan for the Guardian medal.
Ambassadors and trusted reporters alleged to have been involved in the recent activity have either voluntarily stepped down or will be excused from their roles.
Ingress is defined by the passionate players who enable amazing experiences. We ask that you continue to foster relationships and make Ingress a welcoming community within and outside the game.
How does this affect Pokémon GO?
It’s unclear at this moment if a similar treatment will be applied for Pokémon GO cheaters. The community has been very vocal about severe punishment for GPS spoofers and bot users, but Niantic has remained silent on the matter.
It’s expected that Niantic will soon penalize GPS abusers and introduce additional security measures to prevent cheating, both in Ingress and Pokémon GO.
