Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: Niantic, Niantic Labs, niantic social, pokemon, pokemon go

Pokémon GO Trainers Can Now Add Friends From Contacts

Niantic has begun adding new social features to Pokémon GO. This may not be what some trainers expected, though, as a portion of the fanbase has been vocal about wanting a chat-based feature in the game to allow coordination. That is not something we're likely to see, as it creates all kinds of issues considering the wide range of ages playing Pokémon GO. However, Niantic is continuing to roll out new additions to the Friend aspect of the game. Previously, we saw Niantic Social develop connectivity between Pokémon GO and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, making it so that if you are Friends on one, you're Friends on both. Another addition was the 'Online' feature, which allows players to indicate when they're actively playing Pokémon GO to facilitate the Remote Raid Invite system. Now, yet another new feature has been added that allows players to use their contacts in order to play with real-life friends and even invite people who have yet to begin their Pokémon GO journey.

Over on the official blog, Niantic announced the details of this new update:

You can now add friends in Pokémon GO directly from your device's contacts list! Whether you're looking to find friends who are already active Trainers, or perhaps invite others to start their Pokémon GO journeys, connecting with people you know is now easier than ever before. How to add friends in Pokémon GO from your device's contacts list Go to the Add Friends screen and tap Add Friends from Contacts. Decide if you'd like to opt in to be discoverable by Trainers who also import their contacts lists. Tap on the button to find and add friends from your contacts list. Once your contacts have been synced, you can browse them within Pokémon GO and either add individuals to your Friend List by tapping Send Friend Request or refer them to play Pokémon GO by tapping Invite to Play.

Players will be allowed, Niantic indicated at the end of this post, to change permissions later on in the game's settings.

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