In short, game hacking is legal in 99.9% of cases when done purely for fun with no intention to harm, make money or cause damages. – So casually modding an app by downloading and installing a mod, running an aimbot, wallhack or farming bot will not result in you getting charged with any crimes.
But the Terms of Service!?!
Terms of service are not law, they are simply the terms of the contract that you enter into with the providers of a service if you use that service: Just like you are agreeing to our ToS if you are browsing our website here at HackerBot.net. The worst thing the Terms of Service can do to you as a game hacker is allow the developers to ban your account, rather end the contract.
Jurisdiction matters
When discussing the legality of game hacking one needs also to be aware that law and the interpretation of that law and the precedents set are unique to every country. – For example in South Korea people have been successfully persecuted for using game hacks in online games, but that is not the case in any other country.
Unfair Competition
Where casual game hacking can become more likely to be illegal is when one makes money by selling hacks, game cheating apps and bots, selling in-game currency, game accounts or game items which can be argued in court to be unfairly competing with the developers of the game by offering a product that makes their product less profitable. – This kind of legal route has been successful in multiple countries including the US and Germany.
Copyright Infringement
If you are copying game code, such as is the case in app modding, modded APKs and similar game mods, then you are running the risk of getting sued for copyright infringement, especially if you are trying to sell the mods for money, as you are selling the original game code alongside it. – This kind of legal attack can also be seucessful.
Causing Damage
Of course black hat hacking techniques like DDoS attacks on game servers to take them down or exploits that crate server lag or added stress on the game servers can easily cost the developers of the game millions in server costs if done in mass, also opening the exploiters and attackers up to being sued for damages, which will be successful if there is proof of the actions.
TL;DR
Us your common sense: If you are simply cheating on one account for fun and not on an industrial scale to make money or fun a business, you will be 100% fine legally speaking, unless you are living in South Koreas, the only country that takes gaming way too seriously in our opinion. Get more in-depth information.
