In early 2025, a mod for Final Fantasy 14, named "Playerscope," sparked significant privacy concerns among players. Reports surfaced that this mod was capable of scraping hidden player data, including character details, retainer information, and any alternate characters linked to a Square Enix account.

Playerscope allows users to track specific player data of anyone in their vicinity, sending this information to a centralized database managed by the mod's author. This tracking occurs regardless of whether the user is directly interacting with a specific player or just in the presence of others. The mod accesses sensitive information like "Content ID" and "Account ID," enabling users to track players across different characters by manipulating the Content ID system introduced in the Dawntrail expansion. This system also allows players to blacklist others across their service account and multiple characters.

To avoid having their data scraped, players must join a private Discord channel for Playerscope and opt out. This means that every Final Fantasy 14 player not in this channel risks having their data collected, raising serious privacy issues. The community has been vocal about their concerns, with one Reddit user stating, "the purpose is obvious, to stalk people."

The mod gained popularity after its plugin was found on Github, leading to widespread use until it was removed due to terms of service violations. Although it's no longer available on Github or alternative platforms like Gittea and Gitflic, it may still be circulating within private communities.

Final Fantasy 14's producer and director, Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida, issued a statement on the game's official forum addressing the issue of third-party mods like Playerscope. He confirmed the existence of tools that access hidden character information and stated that the development and operations teams are considering options such as requesting the tool's removal and pursuing legal action. Yoshida emphasized that while personal information like addresses and payment details cannot be accessed by these tools, the use of third-party tools violates the game's user agreement and threatens player safety.

Despite the prohibition of third-party tools in Final Fantasy 14, tools like Advanced Combat Tracker are commonly used within the raiding community and referenced on websites like FFlogs. Yoshida's mention of potential legal action marks a significant escalation in addressing the issue.

The Final Fantasy 14 community has responded critically to Yoshida's statement. One player remarked, "fixing the game to break the mod isn’t on the list of options they’re considering I see." Another suggested addressing the root issue by not exposing information on the client side, questioning the game's development priorities. A third user expressed disappointment, feeling that the statement did not adequately address the core problem.

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