Where are the limits for multi-account and account sharing?
in General
Hi!
Today I had a discussion with some players about multi-account and account sharring.
Based of my gaming experience, till now, this were described like this:
- Account sharing = sharring your accout info with other person/player and logging it on his device/devices.
- Multiple-account = using 2 or more accounts on same device. Always was legal to use/log more accounts if each of those is logged on different device. There are games that not allow to play with more than 1 account/pc or device but never was a devices limit.
Now, on Niantic ToS, this terms are not very well described and here is my question: If my wife goes inside a shop and leave me her phone for 5 minutes to deploy some portals, by example, do I break any of those 2 terms? I am asking this because in any other game you play, as long as account stays logged on owner's device which was not declared stolen or taken by force, is legal some other person to play.
Would be nice if someone for NianticsOps would clear this thing.
Thank you!
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Comments
One player one account. If she isn't playing you're shouldn't be playing for her.
Edit: if you have children that don't have their own ingress accounts, I don't see why she could let your son play for a couple minutes to hack for her. I know I once handed my phone off to a zoo employee to hack am unreachable portal for me so I didn't have to quit a mission banner.
Two things I've learned over the years:
1) If you have to ask that question about an action you are taking, you're probably violating the rules.
2) If you have to ask that question about an action someone else is taking, they will probably get away with it.
There are many, many actions that fall into a grey area. People have different opinions about when it's acceptable to operate another person's account (passenger operating a phone for the driver, helping a bedridden agent keep their sojourner streak alive, hopping out to hack a portal to complete a mission while the other agent circles the block, to name a few borderline cases). No matter how many times you parse the letters of the TOS, you aren't going to get to a clear and cut answer about every case, and even if you did you wouldn't be able to devise a system to catch every violation.
It's best to think carefully about how your actions impact others, and whether they give you an unfair advantage. Play honorably and encourage others to do the same. But also accept that others are likely to get away with bending the rules and don't let it get to you.
Limit? What? It's simpler than that: DON'T DO IT!
One player, one account. It's in the rules.
I think, as vidicon says, there are very few cases in which it's justify to use another player's account. I understood only if the other was driving it was acceptable (I actually lost my sojourner by being bedridden and not willing to brake the rules to keep it). But if it's something like "my wife entered a store" I see no reason so as not to wait for her to get out for her to continue playing.
It is plain stupid: one person, one account. Every time you do an action it should be under your IGN. The only acceptable way is to share a phone when more then one account is played by several persons like an extra account for your child and your account.
If you can't get access to a portal, that's life. Get over it or find a legal way to reach it. Your wife is shopping? Stuck to your own account and leave her phone alone ( or maybe sneak thru her conversation with her lover...) ;-)
So by your logical if you have two houses you can cheat your wife in the extra house?
1 account = 1 person = 1 localisation
If your wife or your children don't want play, it isn't a problem. They can to play another moment.
If you want to play, no problem, make this with your account.
Ingress is a geolocated real-time game, it means being available to do the actions where they need to be done or where you want to do them.
If she doesn't want to play then it doesn't matter, it's not your job to do it. Otherwise it means that I can let my account be opened 6881 km from home... and I field from there...
Greed....
@grendelwulf @montitcha @CataCat
Please make a screenshot where exactly is this rule in ToS:
"1 account = 1 person = 1 localisation"
If would be like this, game should verify our identity everytime we log into game to enforce this rule because anyone from outside wouldn't know if the one who's playing is the real owner. As far as I know, there is no game in this world that check identity on login to limit person to use only one account. That's why, in all games with single login they accept lots of devices for same person as long as on every device is 1 account used.
Now, I understand that maybe this sound unfair but if is a bit of difference between what everyone want and what rules can be enforced in ToS to not break GPDR rights. Even if I don't like it, in my opinion is TOTALLY LEGAL for a player to have multiple phones with accounts because that person maybe buy packs with all acounts to fight against a faction while he is alone in his area for his faction. Sometimes to keep area active, you need to have more accounts and more phones. If portals would have defense multiplied with factions proportions, would be more interesting and challenging. By example, in my area we are 2 REZ active and there are 6 ENL active which also do cargress so would be nice to see portal defense multiplied by 3 or more and when GPS detects big speed movement to block all actions in game except hacking till player stops for 3 minutes.
Like ingame shop, to have multiple devices for multiple accounts means money to spend and also maybe money to be spend in Niantic shop. So, for this game some people can spend more money while others wouldn't buy anything which already affects game balance.
That's why I asked for @NianticOfficial Ops to clear this or update ToS.
The limit is 1, and 1 is the limit. Two is too far, and three is way overboard.
@Perringaiden can you post a screenshot from ToS where exactly is this rule? People play following rules in ToS not by how fair it looks or not.
@BloodyHeart : https://niantic.helpshift.com/a/ingress/?s=agent-protocol&f=niantic-player-guidelines&l=en&p=web
And before you say it isn't part of it:
I think there's people wanting to introduce the gameplay style of PoGo and their mandatory "secondary" account...
It's in Section 3.1 of the Terms of Service.
So easy!
1-Never play using any account different than yours.
2-Never allow anyone else to play using account described in case 1.
3-Number of accounts described in case 1 will never be greater than 1.
If you are outside this, then you are a bloody cheater, sir!
@Perringaiden Please read this from your screenshot:
the Terms govern your use of the Apps and Platform. The Terms also govern your interaction with any websites we own or operate (“Sites”), purchase of any Niantic merchandise, participation in Niantic live events or promotions (“Events”), and more generally your use of any Niantic products or services (together with Apps and Platform, the “Services”).
This means that guidelines is how they recommend to play the game but not enforced. Like in any other game, ToS estabilish where are the limits and there info is different:
Cheating includes, but is not limited to, any of the following behavior, on your own behalf or on behalf of others:
As you can see, in ToS something is missing, there is nothing to enforce "1 account = 1 person = 1 localisation".
"Playing with multiple accounts for the same Service;" doesn't cover multiple devices and is covering only 1 device which we know is banable to use mutiple accounts on same device using same "Service". I am sure that whoever wrote ToS knew that some people can afford multiple devices but the limit was set for multiple accounts on same device and not for mutiple devices with their unique accounts. As long as Niantic doesn't have tools to control players ID's they can't enforce this rule and that's why is in Guidelines. In any game your account get suspended/banned based on ToS/EULA breaking and not Guidelines because info there is INDICATIVE ONLY.
Like I said before, I still wait for someone from @NianticOfficial, @NianticAkshay, @NianticAustin, @NianticBC, @NianticBrian or @NianticCasey to clear this and update ToS with right info and explain how this things will be controlled without abuse because nobody can't enforce rules if can't verify/control them.
Can't believe there is people this smart in the world.
By example, in my area we are 2 REZ active and there are 6 ENL active which also do cargress so would be nice to see portal defense multiplied by 3 or more and when GPS detects big speed movement to block all actions in game except hacking till player stops for 3 minutes.
@BloodyHeart are you implying that is forbidden using vehicles to move around?
@Hydraulinski that's how in 2013 game was developed and presented because else should put all portals in car parks to not use so much fuel and keep a clean air, else @NianticOfficial should start to pay some polution taxes if game was designed for driving 😉
And like this, look how ToS need a rule for this too. 🤣
@BloodyHeart Um....
This is literally the statement "1 account = 1 person". You just reposted the evidence that you are asking for. You cannot play multiple accounts for the same service, nor can anyone else play your account.
You are a cheat unless you conform to that standard, by your own evidence.
EDIT: Also, you are wrong, they are enforced. The Agent Guidelines are part of the Terms of Service. You are quoting the generic Guidelines, where I listed the Guidelines for Ingress. Both are the same, even if the wording is slightly different. The generic Guidelines can't directly say "one account" because you can have one for each service. One for PoGo, one for Ingress one for WU.
@Perringaiden as long as mutiple devices is not specified, rules applies for 1 device only and I am not a lawyer to know that. Show this to a lawyer and will explain you better. 😉
And if you wanna go "deeper", as long as ToS is targetting the reading person and is relating with this, accordint to "Sharing accounts;" rule means that you can have multiple accounts and is forbidden to share them and because the previous is not saying anything about multiple devices, strenghtens the fact that you can have multiple accounts but on different devices.
Uh, we have.
And according to lawyers, it is a breach of the Terms of Service, to do anything that the Guidelines specifically declares as cheating.
I am not a lawyer to know that.
That's clear.
@NianticCasey doesn't need to "clarify" anything, and doing so would be pointless, because you are ignoring every piece of evidence that even you provided. You don't want an answer, you want a thread you can point to and say "No-one knows", except this thread has failed, because everyone but you knows, and even you should if you ever read what you posted.
You are only allowed to have 1 account per player in Ingress. If you use someone else's account, its cheating. If you let someone else use your account, its cheating. If you have two accounts on the same device, or two accounts on different devices, that you use, it's cheating. There is no mention of different devices in the ToS/Guidelines, because it doesn't matter whether they're on different devices or not.
No matter how you cut it, you are cheating if you use more than one account, no matter who "claims" ownership of that account.
rule means that you can have multiple accounts and is forbidden to share them and because the previous is not saying anything about multiple devices, strenghtens the fact that you can have multiple accounts but on different devices.
To address your edit...balderdash.
If you have multiple accounts, you are cheating. If you share your account with someone else, you are cheating. One rule does not invalidate or interfere with the other, nor does it justify cheating.
You can have your one account on multiple devices. You cannot have multiple accounts that you use, on one device, nor can you have multiple accounts on multiple devices that you use. The device doesn't matter. It's you and the accounts you use, no matter how or where.
Oh yeah, so this portal 2000km away from my actual location... I need to go by foot there?
@Perringaiden I don't understand why are you not interested to have a CLEAR AND UPDATED ToS for everyone? In ToS say very clear that the Terms govern your use of the Apps and Platform. So Guidelines are not part of anything. If is different, They shoud add in ToS the Terms and Guidelines govern your use of the Apps and Platform BUT IT DOESN'T. Please stop spam and let @NianticOfficial to sort this.
@Hydraulinski there is a bit of difference between going 2000km to a portal, leaving car in car park and hack/attack/deploy resonators to a portal and farming/attacking/deploying resonators running around by car all day. In the end, if this is ok, write this in ToS too and I think New York will be the 1st that will sue Niantic for polution increase made by its players and London and Paris will join too but I bet never something like this will be written because will be like kicking yourself in balls.
Wow, some real TC level of deductive reasoning. To sum up BloodyHeart's argument "It's not cheating so long as I'm not caught."
Real New Yorkers don't have cars
You're assuming they are monogamous and/or an action not involving the wife is cheating.
I can't desagree.
I never understood why most of people don't realise it about cargress style, it's such a reductive gameplay style and they can't walking or biking, except for IFS, Anomalies, Mission Day or events like these.
Ingress it is something like a sport, let's exercise!
Car racing is a sport too.
You are all wrong :D
It matters not where or how rules are written if trespassers and abusers are not punished consequently.