Pokemon GO players who are caught cheating will be hit with a permanent ban, say the game's developers.

Niantic has updated the game's terms of service to state that users who manipulate the app will be kicked out for life.

It comes after some users managed to trick the app into believing they were in a false location.

This can help them to bag a region-specific Pokemon, or to save the player the effort of actually leaving their home to explore their area.

Image: The game features the iconic Pokemon character Pikachu

But Niantic said: "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 has now updated the game's terms of service to include the clause: "Falsifying your location, using emulators, modified or unofficial software and/or accessing Pokemon GO clients or backends in an unauthorized manner including through the use of third party software."

Image: Pokemon Go features the original line-up of Pokemon

People who believe they have been banned unfairly will have access to an appeals system.

However, there are some low-tech hacks that the game is unlikely to be able to detect.

For example, some people are strapping their phones to a spinning bicycle wheel to trick the game into thinking the user has walked further than they have.

This helps to hatch 'incubated' Pokemon eggs more quickly.