"Probable iOS Distance Exploit"

#PokemonGO: I went back and forth on whether or not to share this. I also could just tell Niantic alone and keep you guys in the dark. But, this forum is about information on the game. It's not some noble thing, but I actually do hope this points out that the current system for measuring distance in the game needs to be better designed. It is very frustrating when I walk a good amount of distance only to earn none of it when the app is triggered by some issue that causes me to appear to be going too fast. It's also annoying that this point to point system will cut down my distance earned just because I took a turn somewhere.Also, I searched for this for a bit but didn't find it. If this has been noted before, I was unaware. Shame me in the comments and I'll delete it as to not waste people's time.I have probably found an exploit to earn distance while driving at normal speeds. You can't earn 10k in one shot, but it will definitely stack up on trips the store.I was waiting for some food I was getting to go, messing with the app when some distance I walked just a bit ago triggered and some eggs started popping. My Abra buddy also found a candy and was at 0.0. I went to check the egg distances I had left on my remaining eggs when my food was ready. Grabbed it, got in the car and drove to a friends house. When I got there, I pulled out my phone and realized I had minimized the game but hadn't turned my screen off. When I opened the game again to show him my find of the day, more eggs started hatching. I was definitely confused. I went to look at my Abra buddy, remembering at the restaurant he was at 0.0. He was now at 2.4.I told my friend and also texted another friend about it cause it was weird. The friend I texted actually was about to drive and tried the steps I gave him. No dice. We brushed it off as just a freak thing. However, the next day, I felt like I could make it happen again. As I was headed to the store, I gave it a shot. Opened the app, navigated to the egg screen, minimized the game and drove to the store. When I got there, I opened up the game. Eggs started hatching and my buddy found another candy. I texted my friend I had seen the night before and told him to try the same thing. Sure enough, I get a text back: "It works for me."I've done it a few times now, though it doesn't seem to work every time. I think time is the biggest factor, it can't be too long or it won't register. But short distance, quick trips? That seems to do it every time.I don't have proof, you can try it for yourself. The friend it didn't work for has an Android phone, so I made an assumption that it's iOS (bad form for me, I'll explain). But, that's solid reproduction for me and reproduction on a separate device. I work in game QA as a Lead, which I'm not bragging about cause what the heck is there to brag about, but I am fairly confident in finding and reproducing bugs.I guess let me know if it works for any of you. Niantic should fix this and find a better way of measuring distance. I love the game and I will continue to play, but the distance measuring system is bonkers. Then again, what do I know? I'm QA, not a designer. And believe what you want, but I'm planning to not use this anymore, it's taking a bit of the fun out of it. Hunt responsibly.Edit: I'll answer what I can, but in all honesty, I didn't dive too deep into this. I do this for a living (surprisingly) and Niantic isn't the one that pays me to do it. Maybe silly to you guys considering what I do, but I try not to work in my off time.Edit 2: I did this poorly. But I took notes.2.4 was the first incident. No other data there, I wasn't paying attention.The first actual test earned me 2.7k, I was driving for about 7 minutes and and went a top speed of 30mph.The second test earned me 2.2k. Drive time was about 8 minutes, top speed of about 25.The third test earned me 3.8k. I drove for about 8 minutes, top speed about 40mph.The fourth test was the first failure. Not sure how far I went, but I drove for about 10 minutes, speed of 30mph.The fifth test was also a failure. About 9 minutes, top speed of 30mph.The sixth test was a success that earned me 3.3k. Drove for 7 minutes, top speed 40mph.It's been noted a couple of times, but I am aware of the data delay, it's about 4 minutes for me nearly every time I try and time it, sometimes more, sometimes less. I waited about 30 minutes between each of the last four, hours between the first two. I waited for the app to update to avoid that issue and waited after it did to ensure no further distance would be gained. I did very little walking yesterday, so unless the GPS drift has gotten much worse, I doubt this is either of those things. This was all done on city streets and one expressway, I did not go onto the highway.Edit: I just realized it says probable, not possible which is what I meant. I'm sorry, it was late and I was (and still am) a little exhausted. via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2hx1ke5