A Pokemon Go player has gone viral after sharing their horrifying PokeStop experience, opening up a conversation about whether the game’s scanning feature is really worth using at all.

Since the app’s launch in 2016, there has been no shortage of horror stories, whether that’s having the police called or being arrested for assaulting another trainer.

Five years later, fans are still encountering some problems when outside playing the Niantic game, as detailed by one Pokemon Go player in a December post.

Pokemon Go player ambushed while scanning PokeStop

Reddit user ‘p4755166’ shared their experience on December 11, detailing a rather awkward encounter that happened while they were trying to scan a PokeStop.

“I was at the local park scanning a PokeStop and happened to pan over a group of people, probably 11 or so,” they began. “All of a sudden, one woman called out, “turn off the webcam we can you see filming us.” I didn’t say anything and started walking away.”

Things took a turn for the worst when the woman in question threatened to post a photo of them online. “All of a sudden she pulled out her phone, took a picture of me, and said, “I’m posting you to the city Facebook group, creep.” Safe to say I’ll never like scan again, not even if there’s no people around.”

PokeStop scamming… never again from pokemongo

The confrontation started a conversation in the comments about Niantic’s scanning feature. “I’d recommend scanning the ground. This is what I do whenever I get a scan task for a poffin,” one reply said. “Niantic gets what they (don’t) pay for. Crowd source your labor for free, and you get junk data from me.”

“It’s f**king weird and uncomfortable that they want this data,” another wrote. “‘Scanning’ asks for permission to view all your files basically, like wtf who’re they selling it to? Everyone’s bugged about Facebook but Niantic over here just snooping through all your s**t.”

A major part of Pokemon Go’s charm is getting to experience the colorful world Game Freak has created in real life.

Unfortunately, the unpredictable nature of reality can turn some of Niantic’s features into an absolute nightmare. If nothing else, this story is a good example to always be careful of your surroundings.

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