The beginning

On the date of August 18, 2018, Niantic implemented a new anti-cheat method. Just like most of the anti-cheat method, false positive exists.

It blocked a group of legal user from entering the game — they were urging to find the reason.

It did not take long for them to find the cause. They were using magisk, a utility to gain root, and modify bootloader.

One may ask: it sounds like they are cheating. Are they?

The answer is: No, they’re not.

We have the freedom to unlock and modify our phone.

That is, they were just using their phone legally and normally.

Of all the things, the only thing they have never done was cheating in Pokemon Go.

So, how did Niantic implemented this?