Pokemon Go has a really, REALLY serious Google security issue right now
Pokemon Go has quickly taken over the lives and towns of countless players since it started rolling out last week, but it could also literally take over your digital life. Multiple players, including myself, have discovered that signing into the game on iOS via Google grants Pokemon Go full access to your account.
Software architect Adam Reeve was the first I saw to publicly cry foul about the issue in an informative blog post. The problem isn't that Pokemon Go can use your Google Account to sign in - it makes sense, since it uses a lot of Google technology - the problem is that it automatically gives itself way more access to your Google Account than it should ever need. Here's the description of what giving an app something full account access does from a Google support page: "When you grant full account access, the application can see and modify nearly all information in your Google Account (but it can’t change your password, delete your account, or pay with Google Wallet on your behalf)."
