The Pokemon Go app has now been released in the United Kingdom amid warning from a children’s charity over its safety standards.
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Pokémon Go has now made its way into the App Store and Google Play Stores in the UK.
The initial launch of the game in the United Kingdom was delayed after its popularity in the USA crashed the game’s servers.
The game lets players capture virtual beasts on their phones, as they wander around the real world.
The charity said it is concerned that “basic safety standards appear to have been overlooked”.
While puzzle phenomenon Candy Crush Saga has around 20 million daily active users, they claim Pokemon Go has already reached 21 million.
He said: “I urge you to urgently reassess your app and its security and safety features”.
Wanless said as members of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), the NSPCC will be raising this as an issue of concern at their next meeting.
Residents have been warned to stay alert to their surroundings while playing the popular Japanese game.
Police in the United Kingdom have also begun to express concerns over player habits and the gatherings they can create.
Police in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, tweeted: “Four youths acting suspiciously in the town centre – ended up they were playing Pokemon Go at 2 in the morning”.
There have been separate reports, though, of criminals using the game to lure players to remote locations and to rob them.
Nick Summers from technology site Engadget said the exploration aspect of the game should be praised, but agreed it should also come with a warning.
The Mirror reports, meanwhile, that cyber security expert says: “What better way for a paedophile to attach themselves to a child than to start following where the Pokemons are or to lure them with Pokemons?”
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Set rules about where they can play, and make them aware about stranger danger because they are playing in the real world and can physically meet up with people they don’t know. “For younger players especially, the usual advice applies here – be careful where you go and who you talk to”.
