GymHuntr 'Pokémon Go': Gym tracker cheat lets player keep track of local gyms

Impact

If you want to get PokéCoins in Pokémon Go, you'll have to take over gyms and hold them. This also means scouting for gyms to take if you're not confident in your Pokémon's strength, since chances are your lineup will be knocked out in pretty short order unless they're very powerful.

However, if you hate the feeling of walking to a nearby gym only to see that it's level 10 and guarded by a powerful Dragonite, there are ways to check the status of nearby gyms without leaving the comfort of your own home. One service, called GymHuntr, may not technically be above board when it comes to the game's Terms of Service, but if you're curious as to what gyms are around you it can be very useful.

GymHuntr Pokémon Go: Tow to use the gym tracker page

GymHuntr is a website that shows you (based on a location you input) where your nearby gyms are, who controls them, what Pokémon are in them and who owns those Pokémon. If you're in the mood to take some gyms, it's a great site to check in order to make sure you're not going to waste time walking to a max-prestige gym that you're not going to be able to take on your own.

GymHuntr

While this makes it a great tool for hitting multiple gyms quickly, GymHuntr isn't designed to help you keep them, since you can't search for gyms any other way than by a nearby location. So you can't go after a location-hopping player that you suspect might be GPS spoofing.

Making sure you've got updated info for gyms on the site can also be a bit of a chore since it will only allow you to scan gyms once every 90 seconds. However it's still far and away your best option if you'd like to check local gyms and plan a route to take them over.

GymHuntr Pokémon Go: Is this gym tracker legitimate?

Sadly, anything that accesses the Pokémon Go servers for information is a violation of the game's terms of service, according to the Silph Road.

"The TOS is written to be extremely broad, and Niantic holds all the power of enforcement, so without their OK it's best to assume any third-party app is a TOS violation," user MilkTaoist wrote. 

It's not super likely you're going to be banned for using GymHuntr, especially if you're only using it to check the status of gyms where you've recently placed Pokémon. As long as you're still physically walking to the gym to take it you should be fine, but there's still risk you could get banned if Niantic manages to catch you,

Additionally, there's the chance that Niantic will take action against GymHuntr itself, like it did with Pokévision last summer. So even if you feel comfortable taking your account into your own hands, you might not be able to access GymHuntr forever.

As should be standard operating procedure with third-party apps, it pays to stay informed. So be careful when using anything like GymHuntr that isn't community-reported. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

More Pokémon Go news, updates, tips and tricks

Check out Mic's Pokémon Go guides on how to get stardust, how to determine how long it will take you to reach level 40, the kind of Pokémon you get from 10km eggs, how to create new PokéStops, how to maximize your chances of catching Pokémon and how PokéStops distribute Pokémon eggs. Also check out how to catch Gen 2 baby Pokémon, our analysis of post-balance update Chansey and Rhydon and everything you need to know about finding the long-awaited Pokémon Ditto.

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