How to Block GameGuardian & Cheating Apps in Android Games

Last updated November 9, 2023 by Appdome

Learn to Block GameGuardian in Android apps, in mobile CI/CD with a Data-Driven DevSecOps™ build system.

What is GameGuardian?

GameGuardian is a powerful cheat engine for Android, which comes in the form of an Android app that is used for modifying, hacking, and cheating in mobile games primarily by editing the memory of a live mobile game. This requires the use of a rooted device or a virtual environment in which root permission can be granted to GameGaurdian. Using GameGuardian, hackers can perform modifications such as altering in-game currency, changing the game’s internal clock to gain a relative advantage against other players, modifying or bypassing in-app purchases, and bypassing licensing checks..

Why do I need to Block GameGuardian?

If GameGuardian is not blocked and the aforementioned risks are not prevented, the game creator and game publisher may lose revenue and the game eco system will be disrupted. This will eventually result in loss of trust from regular players, who may avoid performing in-app purchases since they are aware that opponents who use such cheat engines can obtain an unfair advantage without paying for it.

Prerequisites for Using Block GameGuardian:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Block GameGuardian , you’ll need:

Block GameGuardian on Android apps using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Android Apps that Block GameGuardian without an SDK or gateway:

  1. Upload the Mobile App to Appdome.

    1. Upload an app to Appdome’s Mobile App Security Build System

    2. Upload Method: Appdome Console or DEV-API
    3. Android Formats: .apk or .aab
    4. Block GameGuardian Compatible With: Java, JS, C++, C#, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, Cordova and other Android apps
  2. Build the feature: Block GameGuardian.

    1. Building Block GameGuardian by using Appdome’s DEV-API:

      1. Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Block GameGuardian feature as shown below:
      2. fusion set that contains Block GameGuardian

        Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Block GameGuardian feature
        Note: Naming the Fusion Set to correspond to the protection(s) selected is for illustration purposes only (not required).

      3. Follow the steps in Sections 2.2.1-2.2.2 of this article, Building the Block GameGuardian feature via Appdome Console, to add the Block GameGuardian feature to this Fusion Set.

      4. Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set. Copy the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below): fusion Set Detail Summary image

        Figure 2: Fusion Set Detail Summary
        Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory).

      5. Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, App Center, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:
        1. Build an API for the app – for instructions, see the tasks under Appdome API Reference Guide
        2. Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository
    2. Building the Block GameGuardian feature via Appdome Console

      To build the Block GameGuardian protection by using Appdome Console, follow the instructions below.

      1. Where: Inside the Appdome Console, go to Build > Anti Fraud Tab > Mobile Cheat Prevention section.
      2. How: Check whether is toggled On (enabled), otherwise enable it . The feature Block GameGuardian is enabled by default, as shown below. Toggle (turn ON) Block GameGuardian, as shown below.
        If needed, Customize the Threat Notification to be displayed to the mobile end-user in a standard OS dialog notification when Appdome Blocks GameGuardian.
        Block GameGuardian option

        Figure 3: Block GameGuardian option
        Note: The App Compromise Notification contains an easy to follow default remediation path for the mobile app end user. You can customize this message as required to achieve brand specific support, workflow or other messaging.

      3. When you select the Block GameGuardian you'll notice that your Fusion Set you created in step 2.1.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Block GameGuardian

        Fusion Set applied Block GameGuardian

        Figure 4: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Block GameGuardian protection

      4. Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Block GameGuardian:
        1. Threat-Events™ OFF > In-App Defense

          If the Threat-Events™ setting is cleared (not selected). Appdome will detect and defend the user and app by enforcing Block GameGuardian.

        2. Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Detection

          When this setting is used, Appdome detects that GameGuardian is running and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing, enforcement, and user notification. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ for Block GameGuardian Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

        3. Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Defense

          When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against GameGuardian (same as Appdome Enforce) and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence the app’s business logic for processing. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ for Block GameGuardian Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

      5. Click Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 3).
    Congratulations!  The Block GameGuardian protection is now added to the mobile app
  3. Certify the Block GameGuardian feature in Android Apps

    After building Block GameGuardian, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Block GameGuardian protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Block GameGuardian protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below: Block GameGuardian shown in Certificate secure

    Figure 5: Certified Secure™ certificate

    Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Block GameGuardian has been added to each Android app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Block GameGuardian and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app

Using Threat-Events™ for GameGuardian Intelligence and Control in Android Apps

Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when GameGuardian is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for GameGuardian in Android Apps, use registerReceiver in the Application OnCreate, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for GameGuardian shown below.

The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for GameGuardian are:

Threat-Event™ Elements Block GameGuardian Method Detail
Appdome Feature Name Block GameGuardian
Threat-Event Mode
OFF, IN-APP DEFENSE Appdome detects, defends and notifies user (standard OS dialog) using customizable messaging.
ON, IN-APP DETECTION Appdome detects the attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (app chooses how and when to enforce).
ON, IN-APP DEFENSE Uses Appdome Enforce mode for any attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (gather intel on attacks and threats without losing any protection).
Certified Secure™ Threat Event Check
Visible in ThreatScope™
Developer Parameters for Blocking GameGuardian Threat-Event™
Threat-Event NAME GameGuardianDetected
Threat-Event DATA reasonData
Threat-Event CODE reasonCode
Threat-Event REF 6914
Threat-Event SCORE
currentThreatEventScore Current Threat-Event score
threatEventsScore Total Threat-events score
Threat-Event Context Keys
message Message displayed for the user on event
failSafeEnforce Timed enforcement against the identified threat
externalID The external ID of the event which can be listened via Threat Events
osVersion OS version of the current device
deviceModel Current device model
deviceManufacturer The manufacturer of the current device
fusedAppToken The task ID of the Appdome fusion of the currently running app
kernelInfo Info about the kernel: system name, node name, release, version and machine.
carrierPlmn PLMN of the device. Only available for Android devices.
deviceID Current device ID
reasonCode Reason code of the occurred event
buildDate Appdome fusion date of the current application
devicePlatform OS name of the current device
carrierName Carrier name of the current device. Only available for Android.
updatedOSVersion Is the OS version up to date
deviceBrand Brand of the device
deviceBoard Board of the device
buildUser Build user
buildHost Build host
sdkVersion Sdk version
timeZone Time zone
deviceFaceDown Is the device face down
locationLong Location longitude conditioned by location permission
locationLat Location latitude conditioned by location permission
locationState Location state conditioned by location permission
wifiSsid Wifi SSID
wifiSsidPermissionStatus Wifi SSID permission status

With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), Android developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in Android applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when GameGuardian is detected.

The following is a code sample for native Android apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Block GameGuardian:


Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Android Apps by using Block GameGuardian. There is no SDK and no library to code or implement in the app and no gateway to deploy in your network. All protections are built into each app and the resulting app is self-defending and self-protecting.

Releasing and Publishing Mobile Apps with Block GameGuardian

After successfully securing your app by using Appdome, there are several available options to complete your project, depending on your app lifecycle or workflow. These include:

Related Articles:

Check out the following related KB articles:

How to Block Game Guardian on Rooted Android Device

Jailbreaking Prevention

Rooting Prevention

Prevent Jailbreak Bypass and Jailbreak Hiding 

How Do I Learn More?

If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.

Thank you!

Thanks for visiting Appdome! Our mission is to secure every app on the planet by making mobile app security easy. We hope we’re living up to the mission with your project.

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