"Gotta catch 'em all" is the famous catchphrase of the Pokémon TV series which has now been reinvented by Niantic Inc. with its Pokémon Go app. Pokémon Go now boasts of over 500 million downloads and 200 million daily active users in the US alone. With the clamor for more catch power, Pokémon Go Bot and Pokémon Go Map have had fans raving since their release.
Niantic, however, is not happy with the unsolicited and unofficial release of Pokémon Go Bot.
Updates on the two add-ons are highlighted below:
Pokémon Go Bot
The Pokémon Go bot feature was released by still unknown developers who made its way into the official app through jailbreak. Niantic is now doing a crackdown on this feature and has since updated the app which blocks iOs and Android operating systems from getting access to Pokémon Go bots.
Pokémon Go bots are, in essence, fake Pokémon trainers. Pokémon can be caught and upgrades are achieved automatically, even without a single screen tap by the user. The bot will control the user's account on his/her behalf, and can even achieve a level up on the Pokédex.
Although Niantic has been frantic with blocking off this feature, the company hasn't been so successful with Android devices with the availability of the Magisk system mask run by XDA Developers. The company, however, has been successful so far with iOs devices.
Niantic has also released a statement that users caught managing bots will be banned from the game and will have their accounts closed down. Using bots certainly is a breach of Pokémon Go's fair play policy.
Pokémon Go Map
Although Pokémon Go Map, like Pokémon Go Bot, is an unofficial add-on feature, Niantic is not as hassled as it just aids users with finding Pokémon. Deemed as "the best companion for trainers in Pokémon Go," it certainly lives up to the hype.
The Pokémon Go Map features the following: location-precise areas with Gyms (colored in red), and Pokéstops (colored in blue). These plots help out users plan their trips, and users can also share their location and planned trips to friends on social media. Users can even search for Gyms and Pokéstops using zip codes.
This feature is an upgrade of Niantic's official 'Nearby' feature, which shows a recent history of Pokémon caught in a given area. Although not a giveaway, this enables the user to make intelligent guesses as to the probabilities of Pokémon types that can show in a certain area. This feature is currently available in select U.S. cities only.
A 'Sightings' feature was also released by Niantic in their 0.33.0 (for Android) and 1.3.0 (for iOs) versions, which gives a clue to Pokémon that can be close to the user's area.
