Yoshi-P Threatens Legal Action Over 'Stalking' Mod in Final Fantasy 14

In early 2025, a mod for Final Fantasy 14 named "Playerscope" raised significant concerns about privacy and "stalking" due to its ability to scrape hidden player data. This mod can access details such as character information, retainer data, and any alternate characters linked to a Square Enix account, among other sensitive information.

Playerscope enables users to track specific player data of anyone nearby, sending this information to a centralized database managed by the mod's author. This feature captures data that is typically not accessible through in-game tools, including "Content ID" and "Account ID," which can be used to track players across different characters. The mod exploits the Content ID system introduced in the Dawntrail expansion, allowing for blacklisting across service accounts and multiple characters.

To avoid having their data scraped, players must join the private Discord channel for Playerscope and opt out. This means that any Final Fantasy 14 player not in this channel is potentially having their data harvested, posing a major privacy risk. Community reactions have been strong, with one Reddit user stating, "the purpose is obvious, to stalk people."

The mod gained significant attention after its source code was discovered on Github, leading to a surge in its popularity. Due to violations of terms of service, Playerscope was removed from Github but reportedly mirrored on other platforms like Gittea and Gitflic. IGN confirmed that the mod's repository no longer exists on these alternative sites, though it may still be circulating in private communities.

Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida. Photo by Olly Curtis/Future Publishing via Getty Images.

Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida, the producer and director of Final Fantasy 14, issued a statement on the game's official forum addressing the issue of third-party mods, specifically referencing Playerscope. The statement emphasized that the mod displays parts of a player's internal account ID, potentially correlating information with other characters on the same service account. Yoshida outlined the development and operations teams' plans to address the situation, which include:

• Requesting the removal and deletion of the tool.
• Considering legal action.

He also reassured players that personal information such as addresses and payment details registered on Square Enix accounts cannot be accessed using these third-party tools. Yoshida stressed the importance of maintaining a safe environment for players and urged them to refrain from using or sharing information about third-party tools.

While the use of third-party tools is prohibited in Final Fantasy 14, tools like Advanced Combat Tracker are commonly used by the raiding community and referenced on websites like FFlogs. Yoshida's mention of potential legal action marks a significant escalation in the game's stance against such mods.

The Final Fantasy 14 community's response to Yoshida's statement has been critical. One player remarked, "fixing the game to break the mod isn’t on the list of options they’re considering I see." Another suggested that the game should focus on preventing information exposure on the client side, acknowledging the additional work required but questioning the game's resource constraints. A third comment expressed disappointment in the statement for not addressing the root cause of the problem.

The author of Playerscope has yet to respond to these developments.