'Huge Security Risk': Pokemon Go Can Access Your Google Account

SAN FRANCISCO (AP/CBS) -- The Pokemon Go craze has sent legions of players hiking around cities and battling with "pocket monsters" on their smartphones.

Adam Reeve, principal architect of security firm Red Owl, however, found that Pokemon Go required overly broad permission for those using a Google account as a sign-in. Even setting aside the location data collected by the app, he said, the app is a "huge security risk."

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He noted the app, in theory, could allow Pokemon Go to read one's Gmail, send email as you and access your Google search history.

On Monday, Niantic, the software development company that created the game, said in a blog post that it never intended to request such sweeping data access, hasn't collected information beyond the user's ID and email address, and is working with Google to pare back the authorization.

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