Are LoL apps safe?
What Riot actually says about Overwolf, Porofessor, Blitz and the rest, and what changed on October 6, 2026.
The short answer
Riot doesn't publish a list of safe apps, and its rules pages name no app, good or bad. What it bans is behavior: scripts and bots that act for you, zoom hacks, global ult alerts. It says apps built on its official API “should rarely” cause problems.
Since October 6, 2026, Riot also blocks unknown third-party apps from reading game memory. Known tools have until April 2027 to move to Riot's official APIs, and Riot says the change does not by itself lead to bans. What players complain about with these apps is mostly ads, memory use, FPS and surprise charges, not bans.
Sources: Riot Support: Third-Party Applications (Feb 10, 2025); Riot Support: Game Memory Access Removed for Third Party Apps (Sep 29, 2026)
App by app
| App | Runs on Overwolf | Ads | Reads game memory | What Riot says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porofessor | Optional: an Overwolf app, or a standalone app since December 5, 2025. Sources: Porofessor on the Overwolf store; M.O.B.A. Network press release, Dec 5, 2025 | Yes, in the free version. Premium removes them. Source: Porofessor on the Overwolf store | Not stated in the sources we checked | Names no app. The maker's X account says it is “approved by Riot”. Sources: Riot Support: Third-Party Applications (Feb 10, 2025); @PorofessorGG on X |
| Blitz | No. An Electron app, says Hexgate. | Yes, in the free version. Premium is $4.99 a month. Sources: Warden by Khaos Studio (a rival app); blitz.gg/lol/overlays | Not stated in the sources we checked | Names no app. Source: Riot Support: Third-Party Applications (Feb 10, 2025) |
| Mobalytics | Yes. Installing it also installs the Overwolf client. Source: Mobalytics on the Overwolf store | Yes, in the free version. Plus removes them. | Not stated in the sources we checked | Names no app. Source: Riot Support: Third-Party Applications (Feb 10, 2025) |
| OP.GG Desktop | No. An Electron app, says Hexgate. | Yes, in the free version, says Hexgate. | Not stated in the sources we checked | Names no app. The maker's download page shows a “Riot Games Policy compliant” badge. Sources: Riot Support: Third-Party Applications (Feb 10, 2025); op.gg/desktop |
| U.GG app | No. An Electron app, says Hexgate. | Yes, in the free version, says Hexgate. | Not stated in the sources we checked | Names no app. Source: Riot Support: Third-Party Applications (Feb 10, 2025) |
| Overwolf | It is the platform other apps run on. Sources: Mobalytics on the Overwolf store; Porofessor on the Overwolf store | It runs the ads in the in-game apps of M.O.B.A. Network, Porofessor's maker. Forum users complain about its ads. Sources: M.O.B.A. Network press release, Dec 5, 2025; Blizzard forums: Overwolf safe? | Not stated in the sources we checked | Not named in Riot's October 2026 notice. Source: Riot Support: Game Memory Access Removed for Third Party Apps (Sep 29, 2026) |
| Hexgate | No. A native app (Tauri and Rust), says its maker. | Not stated in the sources we checked | Not stated in the sources we checked | Names no app. Source: Riot Support: Third-Party Applications (Feb 10, 2025) |
| LazyElo | No. A native Windows app of its own. | None, in any plan. | No. It reads the League client and the game's live scoreboard data. | Names no app. LazyElo isn't endorsed by Riot Games. |
Checked October 29, 2026. Written by the maker of LazyElo, so read it as one side's view. Claims one app makes about another say so. None of the other makers say publicly, in the sources we checked, whether their app reads game memory. Riot doesn't name apps either, so ask the maker or read their update notes.
What Riot changed on October 6, 2026
“Starting October 6, 2026, Riot will begin proactively preventing game memory access by default for all unknown third-party applications”
“For known and currently approved tools, we will have an extended grace period until April 2027, after which time, they will need to have switched to the official APIs”
What it covers
Game memory access, in all of Riot's games, League, TFT and VALORANT included. Riot gives cheats, bot farms and AI-assisted reverse engineering as the reason.Who it hits first
On October 6 Riot began blocking memory access by default for third-party apps it doesn't know. Tools it knows and has approved keep access until April 2027, then have to use the official APIs.No promises
Riot writes: “While we don't want to promise that any specific application will remain functional”. It names no app, Overwolf included.Not a ban wave
The change does not by itself result in bans, and Riot expects no impact on most players' day-to-day experience.If an app stops working
Follow the app maker's updates. If something you rely on broke, Riot says you can file a support ticket.
Source: Riot Support: Game Memory Access Removed for Third Party Apps (Sep 29, 2026)
Can you get banned for using a League app?
Riot's pages don't say you'll be banned for using a companion app. They say apps built on Riot's official API “should rarely” cause problems, and that suspensions for malicious apps “can vary in length depending on the severity”. This is what Riot treats as an unfair advantage:
- Exposing information the game hides from you.
- “Taking actions on your behalf (botting or scripting)”.
- Drawing conclusions for you during gameplay.
- “Altering your field of intelligence (zoomhacks or global ult alerts)”.
Riot's developer rules add more. Apps may not use information “not present in the game client” that gives a competitive edge, with ult cooldown tracking as the example; Riot made apps remove enemy ult timers in March 2025. Apps may not show win rates for augments, which “applies to all websites, applications and overlays”. And MMR or Elo calculators are not allowed. Riot did not ban all timers: since patch 25.17 the game has jungle timers of its own.
Sources: Riot Support: Third-Party Applications (Feb 10, 2025); Riot Developer Docs: League of Legends; bo3.gg, March 2025; mein-mmo, March 2025; Riot Developer Portal: General Policies; PCGamesN on patch 25.17
Is LazyElo safe?
It doesn't read game memory
LazyElo never touches the game process. Riot's October 2026 block is about game memory, so it doesn't change how LazyElo works.It reads only what the client and the scoreboard show
Three sources: the League client's local interface (your lobby and champ select), the live data the game itself offers on your PC (the same numbers as the TAB scoreboard), and Riot's web API through the LazyElo server for ranks and match history. It only reads: it never sends a command to the client.It never automates anything
It doesn't accept queues, hover, pick, ban or lock in, and it never imports runes or builds. You do all of it yourself.It stays on Riot's side of the line
In a game it looks the other players up only once the loading screen is up, never during champ select, and the player lookup page refuses to work during champ select or a game. Players in Streamer Mode stay hidden. Cooldowns are this patch's fixed numbers; it never tracks when an enemy used an ability. ARAM Mayhem cards show no win rate, as Riot's rule on augments asks.No ads, no Overwolf
A native Windows app of its own, with no ads in any plan.
One caveat, so you have the full picture. Riot's developer docs say the League client's local interface is “not officially supported for use with third party applications”. Riot can change it, and we would have to follow. That is why this page names each connection LazyElo uses instead of calling them all official. Riot's Vanguard FAQ for developers says overlays that use “the API, game client, and in-game APIs should continue to function”. LazyElo isn't endorsed by Riot Games.
Sources: Riot Support: Game Memory Access Removed for Third Party Apps (Sep 29, 2026); Riot Developer Docs: League of Legends; Riot: Vanguard FAQ for developers
More on what it shows during a game is on the overlay comparison, and the download page has the installer's checksum.
Is it safe? The short version per app
Is Overwolf safe?
Overwolf is a real platform that many League apps run on, Mobalytics among them and Porofessor in its original form. It says every app it publishes is “manually tested for quality, malware and performance”, and it has a 4.5 out of 5 rating from 684 reviews on Trustpilot. The complaints you'll find are about ads and how heavy it feels, not about bans: one Blizzard forum post calls it “invasive, the ads are atrocious”. Riot's October 2026 notice doesn't name Overwolf. If you'd rather not run it, Porofessor now comes without it, and Blitz, OP.GG Desktop, U.GG, Hexgate and LazyElo run without it.
Sources: Overwolf: Our commitment; Trustpilot: Overwolf; Blizzard forums: Overwolf safe?; Riot Support: Game Memory Access Removed for Third Party Apps (Sep 29, 2026); M.O.B.A. Network press release, Dec 5, 2025; Hexgate (a rival app), Oct 21, 2026
Is Porofessor safe? Can you get banned for using it?
Riot hasn't named Porofessor either way, as it names no app. Porofessor's own X account says “Porofessor is approved by Riot. Using Porofessor will not get you banned”, and its download page calls it “Riot Games Compliant”. Those are the maker's words, not Riot's. The free version shows ads, and since December 5, 2025 there is a standalone version that doesn't need Overwolf.
Sources: @PorofessorGG on X; porofessor.gg/download; Porofessor on the Overwolf store; M.O.B.A. Network press release, Dec 5, 2025
Is Blitz safe?
Blitz runs without Overwolf and shows ads in its free version. Its site offers to “Go Ad-Free”, and Premium costs $4.99 a month. Riot doesn't name it either way. Two things to know. On October 29, 2026 the top Google result for “is blitz safe league of legends” was a Reddit thread about a scam that borrows the Blitz name, so download it only from blitz.gg. And Blitz has 2.2 out of 5 from 94 reviews on Trustpilot, with complaints mostly about unexpected charges, freezes and ads.
Sources: Hexgate (a rival app), Oct 21, 2026; blitz.gg/lol/overlays; Warden by Khaos Studio (a rival app); r/Scams: a fake app using the Blitz name; Trustpilot: blitz.gg
Is Mobalytics safe?
Mobalytics' desktop app runs on Overwolf, so installing it also installs the Overwolf client. The free version has ads, and Mobalytics Plus removes them. Riot doesn't name it either way, so what goes for Overwolf goes for Mobalytics too.
Is the OP.GG desktop app safe?
OP.GG Desktop runs without Overwolf and shows ads in its free version, according to Hexgate, a rival app. OP.GG's own download page carries a “Riot Games Policy compliant” badge; Riot itself names no app. OP.GG also stopped showing MMR, which it says was “discontinued due to Riot Games' official API policy”.
Sources: Hexgate (a rival app), Oct 21, 2026; op.gg/desktop; OP.GG Help: I want to check my MMR (Dec 31, 2025)
Is the U.GG app safe?
The U.GG app runs without Overwolf and has ads in its free version, according to Hexgate. Its own page lists in-game augment tiers, champion select scouting and automatic import of loadouts. Riot doesn't name it either way.
Sources: Hexgate (a rival app), Oct 21, 2026; u.gg/app
Is Hexgate safe?
Hexgate describes itself as a native app built with Tauri and Rust, without Overwolf, free for 3 games a day with Pro at €9.99 a month. Riot doesn't name it either way.
Does Riot keep a list of approved apps?
No public one. Riot says it “can't provide a full list of which ones are safe to use”. Some makers say their app is approved or compliant, but Riot doesn't confirm that for any app on its own support pages.
Source: Riot Support: Third-Party Applications (Feb 10, 2025)
Try a League app that only reads
LazyElo gives champ select advice from your own pool, scouts your lobby in the loading screen and helps you review your games. It never reads game memory and never clicks for you.
Free plan, no ads. For Windows 10 and 11.
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