About actually cheating
Hey guys, if possible, I want your help with a doubt that I have. I don't have the niantic TOS or Trainer Guidelines in my language and my english isn't so good (so, sorry if there's something that i'm writing wrong) and I want to know if common things that players do are actually cheating (I say, that Niantic consider cheating). If possible, I want you to make a list with the action and the part of the TOS and Trainer Guidelines that says Niantic consider the action as a cheat, like:
- Login in with a friend's account - "playing with multiple accounts (one account per player, please); sharing accounts".
- Spoofing, using fake GPS - "using tools or techniques to alter or falsify your location".
These are the actions that I want to know if is actually cheating on Niantic TOS and Trainer Guidelines:
- Using a IV calculator from a site;
- Using a IV calculator app;
- Using a tracker or map from a site (like pokegointel);
- Using a tracker app (like pokesensor);
- Developing some of this apps or sites;
- Hatching eggs in a car;
- Letting PoGO open while in a car gaining some km in the egg distance;
- Following a location that some friend told you for a rare pokémon;
- Following a location that you received a notification (in a message, WApp...) for a rare pokémon.
I think I didn't miss anything, but if there is some other common action that Niantic consider cheating let me know :) Thanks!
Answers
- Using a IV calculator from a site;
Unless they monitor internet traffic, they won't know
- Using a IV calculator app;
If you're using an overlay, see above. Otherwise, it is against TOS if you actually tap into their server and get data (which they can argue causes strain etc.)
- Using a tracker or map from a site (like pokegointel);
See #1
- Using a tracker app (like pokesensor);
See #1
- Developing some of this apps or sites;
Again, unless you directly tap into their servers and extract data from there, it shouldn't be.
- Hatching eggs in a car;
Everyone does this. Those who don't, lie.
- Letting PoGO open while in a car gaining some km in the egg distance;
See above.
- Following a location that some friend told you for a rare pokémon;
How is this different from walking there and catching it yourself, then saying 'oh it happened by chance'?
- Following a location that you received a notification (in a message, WApp...) for a rare pokémon.
How is this different from walking there and catching it yourself, then saying 'oh it happened by chance'?
Thanks for the answer man. But I want to know what's written in the official TOS or in the Trainer Guidelines that says these things are considered cheating for Niantic, if that is something written in this way, like in my two examples. I can't see it but I don't know if that's because my bad english hehe.
I will try a metaphor since we approach Easter.
Niantic - God
Servers - Heaven
Players - Adam and Eve
TOS - The tree
"playing with multiple accounts (one account per player, please); sharing accounts" and "using tools or techniques to alter or falsify your location". - the apples from the tree
TSR, GP, pokegenie (apps that don't interact with the server or the mobile app), pokebattler etc - angels
Trackers, bot-ing and spoofing apps and scripts are devil banned from the heaven, sent in hell (some of them, the ones that received termination letters). Some are in the process of being sent down below :).
They are also the snake tempting others (Eve) to bite the apple. Eve will ofcourse pursue a lot of Adams to btie too :).
Once you've bite the apple you will be faced with constant fear of "If i get cough" and you will discover also the world of inner shame.
Luckly there are the Angels that can help you discover the inner workings of heaven (all the hidden info discovered and revealed by hard work and studies) without relying on the shiny exterior (i.e. quick access to super pokemons) but rotten inside tools of the devil.
And there are also the Antiquity and Renascence geniuses that helped the hunters along the way improving their tools (nest atlas, fast web or mobile IV calculators, tier lists) and tactics (efficient ways to tier down a lvl 10 gym in shortest time or with shortest amount of potions).
And there are fellow hunters that when get together in the evening at an Inn they share their stories and help each other by asking questions and getting answers.
TL;DR Play exactly as you see fit provided you don't think you harm others.
What's pretty funny is the ones that Niantic should crack down on first is the Youtube community. 90% of those channels openly use trackers & IV calculators and lol quite frankly are making money off Niantic's content, but since they don't care why should you? It took them so long to ban a few bot accounts I highly doubt they'll care if you check IVs on a site as long as you don't give them access to your account. Everyone has benefited w/ mobile transportation and it use to be within the rules. It wasn't until a few updates ago they implemented speed barriers and banned catching and spinning stops from a moving vehicle. In short I think as long as you don't GPS spoof or something along those lines you probably won't get banned. I myself have never trusted trackers and have never used them. The in game tracker has its ups and downs, but rare Pokemon aren't meant to be so easily found. Lol which is probably why it took me 32 levels to obtain a Lapras, but whatever it's funner for me that way.
Thanks man. I'm not worried about being banned, cause I don't do things that justify the ban. It is a curiosity about what Niantic really consider as a cheat, cause there's some players (actually 99% of them, shame :( ) where I live that says that spoofing and using bots is a cheat likewise IV calculators and trackers (like, in the same level) to justify the use of fly GPS and bots. I don't think that way and I was looking for some official information about what is and what is not cheating for Niantic. Either way, I keep playing in the right way, cause if I was looking for a joystick game I could have better options in the GB and NDS versions hehe.
- Login in with a friend's account
Forbidden ("sharing accounts") - Spoofing, using fake GPS
Forbidden - Using a IV calculator
Not forbidden if it uses only information supplied by the game like the IV calculator on this site, forbidden if it accesses Niantic's servers to get the information.- Using a tracker or map from a site (like pokegointel);
- Using a tracker app (like pokesensor);
- Developing some of this apps or sites;
Forbidden, because they access Niantic's servers with fake accounts - Hatching eggs in a car;
Not forbidden. This is also a cultural issue, most americans will do this without giving it a thought while most europeans would consider it not only idiotic but also cheating. - Letting PoGO open while in a car gaining some km in the egg distance;
Not forbidden, see above - Following a location that some friend told you for a rare pokémon;
Not forbidden. - Following a location that you received a notification (in a message, WApp...) for a rare pokémon.
Not forbidden if the information is supplied by a human player, not by a bot.
