Pokemon Go mania drives players into wild outdoors

To play, you fire up the game and then start trekking to prominent local landmarks - represented in the game as "Pokestops" - where you can gather supplies such as Pokeballs.

Full access gives app developers the ability to see emails, Google Drive documents, private Google photos, etc.

By Monday, Pokemon Go had been downloaded millions of times, topping rankings at official online shops for applications tailored for smartphones powered by Apple or Google-backed Android software.

That includes access to email, according to Google.

If you think you're affected, you should check the app permissions page for your Google account to see what exactly you've granted Pokemon Go.

But once again that's not a sure-fire solution - Pokemon's servers are under pressure which means many people are having problems creating accounts.

This is common practice for many app developers as it uses existing credentials to ensure the sign-up process is fast and simple for users.

There are a number of conspiracy theories on Reddit right now about the worldwide phenomena that is Pokemon Go.

In a statement to Polygon and other outlets, they said that they were "working on a client-side fix" to ensure Pokemon GO only requests "basic Google profile information, in line with the data that we actually access". Pokemon Co, which is a separate company from Nintendo, also owns a stake in Niantic, as does Google Inc.

The Internet and the world at large has barely recovered from the barrage of Pokemon GO news when another one hit the proverbial fan.

As it happens, The Pokemon Company - which partnered up with Niantic for the app - is a joint venture between Nintendo and two other gaming entities, Creatures and Game Freak.

Above: A woman uses a portable battery pack to charge her phone while playing the augmented reality mobile game "Pokemon GO" by Nintendo in New York City, U.S. July 11, 2016.

The full report is really worth a read if you're anxious about app security and Pokemon Go.

However, this information has not been confirmed by Google or Niantic, the makers of the game.

Source: AFP