Valorant developers speak out on Vanguard security concerns

Valorant’s developers have stepped in to dispel sinister rumors about anti-cheat client Vanguard.

Controversial posts have been surfacing that say Riot Games’ security software has been volatile for PC players and has been taking screenshots of sensitive information and chats.

As we reported earlier, League of Legends, also from Riot, has been impacted. One gamer posted that they had to remove the CMOS battery to resolve an issue caused by Vanguard.

Riot devs speak on data security rumors

The rumors began with a series of posts from users like @w_sted, saying “Surely this isn’t legal. Valorant now takes screenshots of your PC, They are actually able to screenshot discord chats and fullscreen any window without you knowing and uploading it to their servers.”

User @KiiiExe would post to X to keep the cloak-and-dagger rumor mill going at full speed, saying “Not only does Vanguard send screenshots of your computer daily, they also monitor your clipboard and ur recycling bin. Extremely illegal.”

This caused Riot Game’s Development Team and their Head of Anti-Cheat, Phillip Koskinas Aka @deteccphilippe to speak out in response to @KaiiExe, curtly saying:

Nope. Vanguard doesn't monitor your clipboard or your recycling bin.

We only take screenshots of the game window when you're in game, just like every other anti-cheat.

— Phillip Koskinas (@deteccphilippe) May 2, 2024

Further down the thread of social media posts, Koskinas would respond to other questions, such as @NotKarou asking “Would Riot ever consent to a trusted 3rd party analysis of Vanguard? Like sign a contract that says you can’t disclose the source code or any of the secrets but broad strokes? I don’t really care either way but I know a lot of people do for some reason.”

Koskinas said “Yes. We had this done in 2020, and we plan to do it again this year. Think the difficulty is in having anyone trust the results.”

Trust seems to be a key issue for the developer, but their stance has been strong on the use of the system and its validity. It remains to be seen if the bustling communities of League of Legends and Valorant believe the 3rd party analysis.

What is Vanguard?

Vanguard, Riot Game’s proprietary security software, operates silently in the background of the FPS experience. It is intended to uphold security and data privacy as a priority. Riot’s statement on Protecting Player Data isn’t the most up-to-date though, as it was published in June 2019:

“Our commitment to safety includes our commitment to your privacy. Riot Vanguard was made with Riot Games’ dedication to data privacy specifically in mind, and we worked with our legal and compliance teams to ensure it adheres to regional data privacy laws,” says the developer.

Many players see this mandatory software client that ghosts in between the games as a hindrance, more than a help. Riot on the other hand is stern, saying “To ensure the integrity of players’ games, Riot Vanguard must be active during VALORANT gameplay,”

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