Why iResultBot is Saying Goodbye to Real Names
If you’ve used iResultBot recently, you might have noticed a pretty significant change: real driver names and iRacing customer IDs (CustIDs) are no longer showing up in the results.
I know this might feel like a step backward for a tool designed to track and share race data, so I wanted to pull back the curtain and be completely transparent about why this change had to happen, and why it happened so suddenly.
The Short Answer: iRacing’s New Rules
On October 1st, iRacing updated their official stance and guidelines regarding third-party development and usage of the iRacing SDK and
/data API. You can read the full official article right here, but the most important part comes down to this specific line:“Third parties using such access mechanisms may not display, publish, or otherwise expose a member’s display name or customer identifier (ex. custid) in any context without that member’s explicit, affirmative, and revocable consent.”
In plain English: As a third-party developer, I am no longer allowed to broadcast or display your real iRacing display name or your CustID unless you have explicitly told me I can, and you have a way to revoke that permission at any time.
Why “Explicit Consent” Breaks the Bot
You might be wondering, “Why not just ask people for permission?”
The issue comes down to the technical tools I currently have available. The current key I use to access the iRacing API is not authorized to allow users to log in via OAuth. Because of this limitation, I have no secure method of proving driver identities to gather their explicit consent.
I have raised these concerns directly with iRacing. My hope is that I will be issued a new, updated key that I can use to build a dedicated portal, allowing users to easily grant or revoke this permission in the future.
Until that happens, displaying session results with real names attached would put me in violation of iRacing’s Terms of Use. To ensure the bot survives and continues to comply with the rules set by the platform we all love to race on, stripping the personally identifiable information (PII) entirely was the only realistic path forward for now.
What This Means for iResultBot Going Forward
I understand this can ruin the bot for communities tracking multiple drivers, but it still remains perfectly functional for Discords only tracking a few drivers. As soon as the new key exists and I am able to set up the portal, I will add a new message to each Discord letting them know.
This isn’t really iRacing’s fault, as GDPR and related legislation is a pain and was made by lawmakers that don’t consider services such as iRacing and the communities around it.
See you on the track,
RankUp