Riot Vanguard is Riot Games’ custom game security software, designed to uphold the highest levels of competitive integrity for our offerings. Riot Vanguard consists of a client that runs while VALORANT is active, as well as the usage of a kernel mode driver.
Both the client and the driver of Riot Vanguard have been developed in-house, with both game safety and personal computer safety being a priority. We’ve made this commitment through extensive testing and by reviewing the product both internally and with external security reviews by industry experts.
Our commitment to safety includes our commitment to your privacy. Riot Vanguard was made with Riot Games' dedication to data privacy specifically in mind, and we worked with our legal and compliance teams to ensure it adheres to regional data privacy laws. Specifics on what data we use and collect are available here.
With our latest version, we’re making changes to give you more visibility and control of Vanguard, while maintaining all its security features. We've added a visible System Tray icon that lets you know when Riot Vanguard is running. This will come with the functionality of being able to turn Vanguard on and off, without uninstalling it, though it will also come with an uninstaller. For more on how to disable or uninstall, head here.
We're also addressing some of the compatibility issues players may have had with Vanguard initially. We've automatically enabled similar security standards to Windows Secure Boot while Vanguard is on. These standards were previously addressed through not being able to connect to Vanguard. Vanguard will also inform you what vulnerable vectors are being affected through a Windows notification.
To ensure the integrity of players’ games, Riot Vanguard must be active during VALORANT gameplay. However, unexpected interactions with either the Vanguard client or the Vanguard driver on your device may impact your ability to play.
Should you wish to uninstall Riot Vanguard, you should consult the Uninstalling or Disabling Riot Vanguard guide. Please keep in mind that uninstalling VALORANT will not uninstall Riot Vanguard.
Riot Vanguard is an on-boot application. That means if you do choose to disable it and later decide you’d like to play VALORANT, you will have to restart your computer.