How To Get Nearby Tip Notifications In Pokemon Go

Pokemon GO trainers are always looking for a way to make their hunt easier, and Apptastic! has introduced a new app that could help you on your quest.

On a recent episode of Trainer Tips, Nick and Juan give some information about the new app, called PokeNotify. Basically, it sends you a notification if a Pokemon happens to be in your area, but it allows you to select which Pokemon the app alerts you to. If you're looking for a Lapras or an Eevee, you won't get inundated with Butterfree and Pidgey alerts.

While that is quite boon for players who are looking for specific Pokemon, the app does have its drawbacks. You can't limit the distance to which it tracks those Pokemon, so many times you'll get a notification about a Snorlax that is 1000 yards away. I imagine that feature will be implemented at some point down the line.

The app was available in the Google Play store but has since been removed. The creator of the app, who goes by jodoglevy on Reddit, posted an answer to numerous questions he'd received about the app and its removal. He posted his response here and included topics like why you most likely won't get banned from the service using his app.

"PokeNotify does not talk directly to Niantic's servers from your phone. PokeNotify talks to a "middle-man" service, which talks to Niantic's servers. This middle-man service uses its own Pokemon GO accounts to talk to Niantic's servers, not the user's personal Pokemon GO account, set up on his/her phone. So the accounts used by PokeNotify are in no way tied to user Pokemon GO accounts. In addition, since a middle-man service is being used, things like your phone's unique footprint (IP address, Android version, phone model, etc) that could be used to identify you are never passed to Niantic's servers through PokeNotify. Since the middle-man service is what's talking to Niantic's servers, it's IP address, etc, are passed to Niantic, not your phone's."

His response is lengthy, but well worth a read if you are planning on installing the app, which can be downloaded from his page here. Again, all of these are not officially sanctioned, so if you do plan on downloading, be aware that it is at your own risk.