Is it possible to cheat or hack in Pokemon GO?

As is the case with almost every other popular game, Pokemon GO players are also finding new and creative ways to cheat and hack the app.

Though it may be a difficult job, Niantic is constantly looking for players who are trying to gain unfair advantages in Pokemon GO.

Most of these cheats have to do with catching Pokemon without walking or even being in the same continent. The majority of these methods will lead to a ban from Pokemon GO for at least seven days.

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Which new methods are players using to cheat Pokemon GO?

The most popular cheating method in Pokemon GO is by far spoofing. This allows trainers to catch many different rare Pokemon that they would normally not have access to.

The way spoofing works is that it manipulates the phone to make the GPS believe it is in a different location. Pokemon GO players will then be provided with a joystick so that they can walk around in that new area.

This cheat has some pretty big applications. Players can spoof themselves to be in locations to catch Pokemon that are region locked. This can also apply to when certain events only occur in specific areas, like the upcoming events for Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf.

Players can also use spoofing to get extended time during Spotlight Hours and raid hours. If a player wants to stock up on a particular Pokemon during a Spotlight Hour and double the benefit from the bonuses once the hour expires, they can spoof to a location that has a later time zone.

They can then “play through” the Spotlight Hour again, catching more Pokemon, getting potentially double XP, double Stardust, etc.

Another powerful cheat that can really trivialize the mechanics of the game is botting. This method basically sets up bots for the player in a given area. Once the bots are set up, they will find and catch Pokemon automatically without the player moving a muscle.

Players that use apps for botting will likely get penalized by Niantic if they are caught.

A “hack” that may not get caught easily, however, is the use of a swing device. This will take the phone and swing it back and forth to simulate the distance being traveled. Players can use this to grind candy, hatch eggs, and complete several other objectives.

Another often overlooked cheat is the use of DeFit. This app was made to test out some of the mechanics in Google Fit, but it can be applied to Pokemon GO as well. Players can use this app to input a certain distance that they never walked. Similar to swing devices, this can be exploited to earn rewards from walking.

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Note: The article reflects the views of the writer.