Apple updated Game Center on Tuesday so that user’s names are displayed when making friend requests instead of just their account handle. The company introduced the change with an updated terms of service agreement that appears when users launch the Game Center app on their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

Game Center, now with real names

Game Center is a social networking service Apple launched along with iOS 4.1. It lets users play with other Game Center users in compatible games, and also lets them keep track of in-game statistics.

Previously, Game Center would only show the nicknames users assigned to their accounts when sending friend requests. Since users could create nicknames that didn’t necessarily show their real name, it could be difficult to figure out if a request was coming from an actual friend.

Game Center now displays the name associated with your Apple ID, so if you want to keep that name private create a second Apple ID account. Since Apple IDs are free, there isn’t any penalty for create extra accounts.