5 Quick Pokémon GO Facts for Parents in 2026

Pokémon GO launched in 2016 and caused a summer of people wandering parks with their phones held out in front of them. A decade later it is still one of the most played mobile games in the world, and a new generation of kids is asking to download it. The game has changed a lot since those early days, and so has the company behind it. Here are five facts worth knowing before you say yes.

1. The game has a new owner and a new name for its parent company

Pokémon GO was built by Niantic, a company that grew out of Google. In March 2025 Niantic agreed to sell its games business, including Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now, to Scopely, a mobile game publisher. The deal closed at the end of May 2025, and the game team now operates under the name Scopely Explore.

Why does this matter to a parent? Because the names you will see on login screens, help pages and emails have changed. The child login that used to be called Niantic Kids is now presented as Kids @ Scopely Explore, and the parent portal is branded the same way. If your child set up an account years ago, it should still work, but the screens may look unfamiliar. Scopely has said publicly that it does not sell player location data, which was one of the bigger questions parents had when the sale was announced.

2. Kids under 13 need a parent-approved child account

When someone opens Pokémon GO for the first time, the game asks for a birthday. If the player is under 13 (or under the digital age of consent in your country, which is higher in some places), the usual sign-in options such as Google, Apple or Facebook are hidden. Instead, the child is directed to a child account, and the app asks for a parent's email address so a parent can give consent before play begins.

A child account is noticeably more limited than an adult one:

• Child accounts cannot send messages to other players.
• Child accounts see no ads, and sponsored in-game content is only available with a parent's permission.
• Friending, trading, gifting and battling with other trainers stay off until a parent turns them on in the parent portal.
• Scopely says it disables adult accounts it learns are being used by children.

The App Store currently lists Pokémon GO as 9+. That rating is about content, not about the account rules above, so a 10-year-old can install it on an iPhone with a 9+ restriction, but they still need your consent to play.

3. It is free, but PokéCoins are real money

Pokémon GO costs nothing to download. The money side comes from PokéCoins, an in-game currency used for extra storage, items, raid passes and event tickets. Kids can earn a small number of coins by playing, but most coins are bought with real money, and the game regularly runs limited-time events that make spending feel urgent.

Before your child plays, set up purchase approval on the device. On an iPhone or iPad that means turning on Ask to Buy through Family Sharing, or blocking in-app purchases in Screen Time; our guide on how to restrict in-app purchases walks through it. On Android, set Google Play to require authentication for every purchase, or use Family Link so purchase requests come to you.

It also helps to agree on a rule up front. Some families allow a set amount of gift card money per month; others say no purchases at all. Either works, as long as everyone knows the rule before the first event countdown appears.

4. The biggest risks are physical, not digital

The original worries about Pokémon GO were not about chat or content. They were about kids walking into traffic while staring at a screen, wandering onto private property, or ending up somewhere unfamiliar while chasing a rare Pokémon. Those risks have not gone away.

PokéStops and Gyms are tied to real places: churches, murals, statues, shops, parks. Some of those are perfectly fine for a 10-year-old to visit. Others are in places you would not want them alone, especially after dark. The game shows a warning about being aware of your surroundings and will not let you play normally at driving speeds, but neither of those replaces an adult's judgment.

A few house rules cover most of it:

• Younger kids play with an adult nearby, full stop.
• Older kids agree on an approved area, such as your street, the school field or a particular park, and stay inside it.
• No playing while crossing streets or riding a bike or scooter. Pause, then play.
• Home before dark, or play only with a parent in the evening.
• Never go into a building, yard or car because of the game.

If your child carries their own phone, consider family location sharing so you can see where they are. Our article on location sharing on iOS explains how to set that up and when to turn it off again.

5. Location and fitness data are part of the deal

Pokémon GO cannot work without location access, because the whole game is a map of the real world. That is expected. What is worth a closer look is how much extra access you give it.

The optional Adventure Sync feature lets the game count steps even when it is closed, by reading from Apple Health or Google Fit. Kids like it because walking hatches eggs and earns rewards. If you are comfortable with that, fine. If you would rather the game only knows where your child is while they are actively playing, leave Adventure Sync off and set location access to "While Using the App" in the phone's settings.

On a child account, the parent portal also lets you control whether your child's trainer name is visible to others and which social features are on. Check it once when you set up the account, then again every few months, since features change with updates.

The bottom line

Pokémon GO can be a genuinely good reason to get outside and walk, and many families play it together. Before handing it over, run through this short checklist:

1. Create the account with your child, using a child account if they are under 13, and save the parent portal login.
2. Decide which social features to switch on, if any.
3. Turn on purchase approval or block in-app purchases.
4. Agree on where, when and with whom they can play.
5. Set location access to "While Using the App" and decide whether Adventure Sync stays on.

If you want a broader framework for app rules like these, our family media agreement is a good place to write them down.