In early 2025, a controversial mod for Final Fantasy 14 named "Playerscope" sparked widespread concerns over privacy and "stalking" fears due to its ability to scrape hidden player data. This mod can collect sensitive information such as character details, retainer information, and any alternate characters linked to a Square Enix account.
Playerscope enables users to monitor specific player data of anyone near them in the game, transmitting this information to a centralized database managed by the mod's author. This data collection happens regardless of whether the user is actively targeting a player or simply in their vicinity, capturing information that is typically not accessible through standard in-game tools.
The mod exploits the "Content ID" and "Account ID" systems, introduced with the Dawntrail expansion, which allows players to track others across different characters using these identifiers. To avoid having their data scraped, players must join a private Discord channel and opt out of the tracking. This means that any Final Fantasy 14 player not in this channel is potentially having their data harvested, raising significant privacy issues. Community members have voiced their concerns, with one Reddit user stating, "the purpose is obvious, to stalk people."
The mod's author announced its presence on Github a few weeks ago, leading to a surge in its usage. However, due to violations of terms of service, Playerscope was removed from Github and allegedly mirrored on alternative platforms like Gittea and Gitflic. IGN confirmed that the mod's repository no longer exists on these sites, though it may still be shared within private communities.
In response to the situation, Final Fantasy 14's producer and director, Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida, issued a statement on the game's official forum. He confirmed the existence of third-party tools like Playerscope that access hidden character information and emphasized the development and operations teams' awareness of the issue. The statement outlined potential actions such as requesting the mod's removal and considering legal action. Yoshida reassured players that sensitive personal information such as addresses and payment details cannot be accessed by these tools.
Yoshida's statement stressed the importance of a safe gaming environment and urged players to refrain from using or sharing information about third-party tools. He reiterated that such tools violate the Final Fantasy 14 User Agreement and could jeopardize player safety.
Despite the prohibition on third-party tools, tools like Advanced Combat Tracker are commonly used within the game's raiding community and referenced on platforms like FFlogs. Yoshida's mention of potential legal action marks a significant escalation in the game's approach to mod usage.
The Final Fantasy 14 community has responded critically to Yoshida's statement. Some players expressed frustration over the lack of a plan to fix the game to prevent such mods, with one user commenting, "fixing the game to break the mod isn’t on the list of options they’re considering I see." Others suggested that the game should focus on preventing the exposure of information on the client side, acknowledging the additional work required but questioning the game's resource allocation. Another community member described the statement as "disappointing" for not addressing the root cause of the issue.
The author of Playerscope has not yet responded to the situation.
