'Pokémon Go' cheats news update: Niantic updates Terms of Service to permanently ban cheaters

Cheaters always find a way to make playing "Pokémon Go" an easy feat. The augmented reality game continues to rise in popularity, but there are people who don't want to get up and explore their surroundings to catch Pokémon. Global Positioning System (GPS) spoofing apps have been created and bots have been used to help those types of players succeed in the game but game developer Niantic fights back with a new update.

The developer has recently and discreetly released an update on their page that mentioned about permanently banning players who violate their Terms of Service. Among those who will have their accounts permanently banned are players who will use the GPS spoofing apps that falsify locations, allowing them to catch Pokémon that are unavailable in their region. Those who also use bots, programs that allow players to enjoy the game without having to leave their homes, will also be banned.

Previously, Niantic only applied soft bans to cheaters, which means the account cannot be played for up to 12 hours. However, this didn't seem to deter people from cheating, which then led the developer to be stricter.

In their official page, Niantic made available a form for players to submit a ban appeal, should there be a case of mistaken ban. Niantic highlighted that a permanent ban resulted from doing all the cheating methods mentioned above.

The developer also explained why there is a need to permanently terminate cheaters from the game. It stated, "Our goal is to provide a fair, fun and legitimate game experience for everyone. We will continue to work with all of you to improve the quality of the gameplay, including ongoing optimization and fine tuning of our anti-cheat system."

It remains to be seen how Niantic is able to detect players who are using cheating apps like GPS spoofing and bots. Experts still can't figure out how the developer was able to find out who's cheating in the game.