Niantic, the developers of Pokemon GO, have implemented a system that blocks rooted (modified) Android devices from booting up Pokemon GO.

The purpose of blocking rooted devices is to prevent cheating and spoofing, even if the user with a rooted phone has no intentions to do so.

Recently, hackers have discovered how Niantic blocks and detects rooted devices. When the app is booted, it’ll scan for folders that match the names of root programs. What that means is even if your phone isn’t rooted but has a directory called “Magisk”, it will refuse to boot.

What do you think of Niantic’s policy on rooting? Let us know in the comments below.