Can violating Routes guidelines in Pokemon GO get players permabanned?

Pokemon GO players are up and about exploring the new Routes feature which was added to the game through the Blaze New Trails event. As the name suggests, this event was tailor-made for Routes in Pokemon GO. Niantic pushed out a lot of content in the past couple of weeks, as besides this, players also saw a new legendary critter make its debut.

Routes can be considered dedicated passages that can be followed to complete daily tasks and adventures. These paths are created by the players, as once a Route gets approved by Niantic, anyone within its proximity can follow it.

There are certain guidelines you must keep in mind while making or following Routes in Pokemon GO. In this article, we will discuss the possibility of getting permabanned while using this feature in the game.

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Will Routes get you banned in Pokemon GO?

Yes, all in-game content in GO follows a set of rules, and any violation will most definitely get penalized.

For the Routes feature:

• You are not supposed to create paths through restricted areas or places you are not supposed to enter without consent.
• You are not supposed to make paths with inappropriate shapes. Doing such things will get you punished for going against the terms of use.

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What are the “Player Guidelines for Routes” in Pokemon GO?

In Pokemon GO, Niantic wants players to follow the Guidelines mentioned on its official website. Since Routes is hot out of the oven, there are numerous possibilities of abuse, and the creativity of some players often has the developers beat.

Recently, the rules that apply to the Routes feature have surfaced through data-mined sources. A well-known data miner has revealed that Niantic is being extremely strict with the safety measures surrounding Routes in Pokemon GO.

According to the leaked sources, they are strongly leaning toward the ban plan and will not hesitate to terminate the accounts of individuals that wish to create mischief. You can expect the folks at Niantic to monitor this feature thoroughly to prevent safety breaches.

Comment by u/BravoDelta23 from discussion PokeMiners - Routes Texts in TheSilphRoad

As this game is based on real-world locations, some places might be off-limits for common people due to security reasons. As was stated by a Reddit user who said that some players might use unfair means to create Routes that could be hazardous for others:

“The severity of those ban messages surely means the system is super open to abuse. I can't wait to see throwaway accounts setting up routes through construction sites, military bases, and off cliffs!”

It's possible that spoofers make use of special hacking tools to fake their location and create a Route that isn't supposed to be followed. If you are not careful of where you are treading, proceedings could get problematic. Owing to these risks, Niantic is being stringent with the ban policy.

(Note: Since these are leaks, take them with a pinch of salt until official confirmation.)

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To be safe, refrain from doing anything that might put you and others at risk. If you want to learn how to create or find Routes, read our article here.