In response to the strong wave of privacy concerns from their player base, Riot implemented some changes to how Vanguard works (you can read their full Reddit update here). The obvious risk was that any hacker attacking Riot could hypothetically take advantage of Vanguard software to cause harm to users.įortunately, the Valorant dev team heard the concerns of users and worked quickly to make some changes. While Riot themselves aren’t a malicious entity, they are just as vulnerable to cyber breaches as any other company. Installing Vanguard meant that Riot had full access to everything running on your PC at any given time. As laid out by a Reddit group, Vanguard was being installed as essential system-level software, which meant that it was nearly impossible for anyone lacking in high-level IT knowledge to deactivate it. It’s a great system for stopping cheaters in their tracks, but there’s a catch.ĭuring the beta, players began to realize that Vanguard was running in the background on their PC at all times. With Vanguard protecting against cheaters and a VPN guarding against DDoS attacks, you’re essentially guaranteed a positive play experience with no outside interference. To its credit, Vanguard is spectacular at what it does. In simple terms, Vanguard runs in the background to ensure that your PC isn’t running any cheat software while you play Valorant. Vanguard is installed on your PC alongside the Valorant software. To understand the root of the Valorant privacy issues, we first need to look at how the Vanguard software works. Here’s everything you need to know about Valorant’s potential privacy issues before you fire up the game. With Valorant’s ranked mode dropping this week, players are more excited than ever to hop online, but it’s important to know what you’re getting into. Vanguard is highly effective at preventing cheaters from ruining the game, but it also comes with privacy concerns. In order to play Valorant, you’re required to install and run a specific anti-cheat software, known as Vanguard.

The game is not without controversy, however. Valorant took the internet by storm during its beta earlier this year, conquering Twitch in a way that no other game has. The new tactical shooter from Riot (the developers behind League of Legends) combines everything great about Counter Strike and Overwatch to create something that’s both new and familiar. If you hang out on Twitch or follow esports in any capacity, you’ve probably heard of Valorant.

Riot vanguard install