Franken wrote a letter Tuesday to Niantic, the company behind the blockbuster app that allows players to use their smartphones to virtually “catch” Pokemon scattered around their city.
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The new gaming app has already been downloaded more than Tinder, and is ripe to surpass Twitter if the numbers keep climbing – estimates put downloads at more than 7.5 million since its July 6 launch. “While this release is undoubtedly impressive, I am concerned about the extent to which Niantic may be unnecessarily collecting, using, and sharing a wide range of users’ personal information without their appropriate consent”. “I believe Americans have a fundamental right to privacy, and that right includes an individual’s access to information, as well as the ability to make meaningful choices, about what data are being collected about them and how the data are being used”.
Growing numbers of Pokemon Go players in Australia, one of three countries where Nintendo Co’s smash-hit mobile game is available, are complaining they’re having trouble logging in, raising concerns the Japanese firm may not be able to roll the game out globally as quickly as planned.
Senator Al Franken has published the letter sent to Niantic on his site.
If you are still unsure about how to play Pokemon Go, or what it is, Google’s prank provides a pretty good guide. Niantic says that it never meant to ask for full access to your Google profile and only wanted your Google User ID and email address., Once the error was spotted, it went to work on the update and the speed of its appearance seems to bear this out.
To reduce the game’s access to your Google account, simply download the update from the App Store, which has resolved other issues with the game as well.
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Franken asked for a response by August 12.
