Evergreen
Pokémon GO Fair Play: Rules, Spoofing and Keeping Your Account in Good Standing
What the Pokémon GO rules say about spoofing, bots and account sharing, how enforcement has worked, and what to do if you ever receive a warning.
Pokémon GO is played in real places, next to real people, so its rules are mostly about keeping that shared world honest. This page explains the main ones in plain language. It is a fan guide. The Terms of Service and player guidelines published by the game's developer are the documents that count, and they can change, so check the current versions whenever you are unsure.
Where to find the official rules
The game's help center, reached from the settings menu in the app, has carried the Terms of Service, the player guidelines and the reporting and appeal options. Menu labels move between app versions, so search the help center if you can't see them.
What's allowed and what isn't
| Behaviour | Where it stands | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Faking your location (GPS spoofing) | Not allowed | Lets a player act somewhere they are not, affecting Gyms, raids and everyone playing locally |
| Modified or unofficial versions of the app | Not allowed | Can unlock features the real game doesn't offer, and often ask for your login details |
| Bots, scripts or tools that play for you | Not allowed | Automated play is unfair to people playing by hand |
| Sharing your login or letting someone else play your account | Not allowed | An account belongs to one person |
| Buying, selling or trading accounts | Not allowed | Accounts are personal and not transferable |
| Running extra accounts to help yourself | Not allowed: the guidelines call for one account per player | Holding Gyms or feeding yourself trades with a second account tilts things against other players |
| Officially licensed accessories and in-game features such as Remote Raid Passes | Allowed | They are part of the game as designed |
Why spoofing gets singled out
Spoofing draws the most attention in a location-based game because its effects land on other people. A spoofer can take and hold Gyms in a town they have never visited, or collect regional Pokémon without travelling, while local players who walk to those places are left with the consequences. Spoofing tools also tend to involve sideloaded or modified apps, which is a security risk in its own right: anything that asks for your game login could misuse your account or lock you out of it.
It helps to separate spoofing from ordinary GPS drift. Phones sometimes place you a little off, especially between tall buildings or indoors. That is normal for phone GPS; wait for a better signal, and don't install a tool that claims to "fix" your position.
How enforcement has worked
The game's developer has historically used a tiered approach: a warning first, often with some features restricted for a while, then a temporary suspension, then permanent termination for repeated or serious violations. Severe cases can skip straight to the end. The current policy sets the exact steps and durations, and it can change.
If you receive a warning
- Read the notice in full. Take in what it says in the app, including any instructions it gives.
- Remove anything unofficial. Uninstall any unofficial app or tool, and stop any service that has your login.
- Secure the account. If anyone else has had your login, change the password on the account you sign in with.
- Appeal only through the official route. If you think the notice is a mistake, use only the appeal route the notice names. Ignore anyone offering to "unban" an account for you: they have no power to, and they usually want your login.
Bought accounts carry an extra risk: buying one is against the terms, and the original owner may be able to take it back through account recovery. Our guide to account login, linking and security covers how to lock your account down and spot the common scams.
A good-standing checklist
- Play one account, using the official app, and don't let anyone else play it.
- Keep your login to yourself.
- Only use accessories that are officially licensed for the game.
- Use Remote Raid Passes, events and travel to reach Pokémon you can't find at home.
- Don't install apps that ask for your game login, connect to the game on your behalf, change your location or automate play.
Fair play at community tournaments
In-person and community tournaments add their own rules on top of the game's. Organisers set them, but the common ones look much the same from event to event: play on your own account, use the team you registered if team lists are required, take no outside help during a match, and never let someone else battle for you. Our page on tournament formats, registration and what to bring covers the practical side of entering one.
Fair play questions
Will travelling get my account flagged?
Real travel is a normal part of the game; the rules target faking your location. Moving quickly, for example in a car or on a train, may bring up a prompt asking you to confirm you are a passenger, and egg and Buddy distance may stop counting above a certain speed. These are built-in limits, not penalties.
Are auto-catch accessories allowed?
Officially licensed devices, such as the Pokémon GO Plus range, are part of the game. Unofficial tools that modify the app or automate it are a different matter. See our guide to Pokémon GO Plus and auto-catch accessories for what the licensed devices do.
What should I do if I think someone is cheating?
Don't confront them. The help center has offered a way to report suspected cheating; use it and let the developer investigate. Our guide to contacting Pokémon GO support shows where the reporting options live.
For guides that help you get more out of the game the honest way, visit the Trainer Hub homepage.