Is Riot banning third-party LoL apps? New decision worries players

Riot Games has firmly banned one type of third-party app feature for LoL, so what does that mean for the future of these apps and its implications the game’s players?

Significant changes have come to League of Legends. Riot developers recently implemented changes that made lane swapping significantly less viable in-game, and now in addition to altering key in-game mechanics, Riot has seemingly set its sights on the use of third-party apps.

Did Riot ban third-party apps for League of Legends?

Riot has specifically banned some select third-party apps, including those that support the display of enemy ultimate timers. Riot has officially updated its policy regarding enemy ultimate timers as a feature. In the announcement, Riot warned third-party apps to remove any features that track the timing of enemy champion ultimate abilities by March 13, 2025.

The policy bans the feature regardless of whether the tracking is performed automatically or manually, cementing Riot’s stance on the matter.

Many players praised the decision but did wonder what precedent this will set for the future.  Some wondered why ultimate timers were specifically banned, but not other features such as summoner spell and jungle camp timers.  Some players use third-party apps to improve their overall timings and track the best time to continue clearing the jungle or prepare to dive into team fights, and these players now wonder if they might soon find their LoL accounts banned.

It’s worth noting that it’s mostly LoL players outside of China installing third-party apps with these features. Players in China have such timers built into their official clients, as provided by Chinese publisher Tencent. While some have criticized this as an “unfair advantage,” it’s worth noting that all players in China have this feature. With no cross-server play, that means these advantages are effectively equal among Chinese players.

Some players hope Riot adds third-party features to official LoL client

Many players have expressed their desire for Riot to have official add-ons, as opposed to forcing players to rely on third-party software that could potentially be banned. While it’s debated which features give advantages, an official set of features straight from Riot may better even the playing field. As the situation in the China region proves, Riot has experience in implementing official features for a large player base.

The extent of what effect these hypothetical features might have elicits varied opinions among the playing community. The most popular add-ons are typically timers, such as the aforementioned jungle and summoner timers. Vanilla players argue against them, stating it takes away from the one of the game’s required skills.

With Riot’s decision, it’s likely for Riot to be more strict with such features moving forward. Evening the playing field removing such potential advantages instead of giving it to more players communicates as much. Still, Riot’s decision to only ban certain features instead of all third-party apps outright may signal a willingness to allow for some features to continue to be taken advantage of.