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The Daily Insight

How does sightings work in pokemon go

Author

Jessica Hardy

Updated on March 21, 2026

Sightings also removes any duplicate Poké mon, so that you’re no longer looking at that disheartening list of endless Pidgeys: if there is …

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In the bottom-right of your screen, you’ll still see what used to be the Nearby Tracker icon, but once you open it, you’ll notice the list has been …

The new sightings system removes pokemon that are no longer currently in the area. This combined with the fact that there are no more duplicate listings, means the tab is less cluttered and more reliably showing what is actually around you.

The biggest one is that it works on a much higher refresh rate, which dramatically increases the odds that the Pokemon listed on your screen will actually be in the vicinity: Pokévision taught us that most Pokémon spawn for about ten minutes, and it appears that the new sightings system does a much better job of hustling them off the list at …

The nearby system was originally supposed to show you pokemon spawns in order of distance (Which we all know didn’t work at all). Essentially Sightings is now a list of what pokemon are currently in the area as opposed to listing every nearby spawn as an individual pokemon, which also caused a bunch of duplicates to clutter the tab.

Sightings is very much like the old Nearby (which you can read about here ). It gives you an idea of what Pokemon are near you. It used to also give you directions toward them, giving you a sort of hot and cold mechanic where you could slowly track down the individual Pokemon. However, most of those features were ripped out shortly after launch.

Sightings is similar to the old “nearby” tracker, but with some important differences. The biggest one is that it works on a much higher refresh rate, which dramatically increases the odds that the Pokemon listed on your screen will actually be in the vicinity: Poké vision taught us that most Poké mon spawn for about ten minutes, and it appears that the new sightings system does a …

What does find these Pokemon in the wild mean? The ones on the tab with grass behind them are, indeed, closest to your location. These Pokemon are within 200 meters of you. The grass also means that the Pokemon are found in the “wild” and not at Pokestops, according to people who have been able to compare this feature with the tested beta tracker.

It gives you one of two results for each Pokemon. If the Pokemon in question is near a pokestop it will display an image of that pokestop behind it. If the Pokemon is not near a pokestop it will have grass behind it. This is super useful in urban areas with …

When Pokémon Go first launched, many ambitious players invested time and resources into setting up interactive Maps and Trackers to assist players in finding everything in the game, from Raids to rare Pokémon spawns. While some of this was great for everyone involved, it also put a lot of strain on Niantic and brought up concerns about cheating. Through …

Sightings is very much like the old Nearby (which you can read about here). It gives you an idea of what Pokemon are near you. It used to also give you directions toward them, giving you a sort of hot and cold mechanic where you could slowly track down the individual Pokemon.

Related Questions

What happened to the Pokémon Go maps and trackers?

Though most of the Pokémon Go Maps and Trackers have gone dark, a few still remain. When Pokémon Go first launched, many ambitious players invested time and resources into setting up interactive Maps and Trackers to assist players in finding everything in the game, from Raids to rare Pokémon spawns.

Where can I find real-time information on Pokémon Go?

Namely, the best thing you can do for real-time information on Pokémon Go is to connect with other local players. Many social platforms, such as Facebook and Reddit, run local Pokémon Go communities.

What is go map Pokemon Go?

Go Map. Go Map is a collaborative, real-time map that lists Pokéstops and Gyms, as well as Pokémon spawns. Because this site relies on players to report locations and spawns, it is more useful in some areas than others. This site also offers an interactive Pokédex with statistics and in-depth details about each Pokémon.

What is the best site for Pokémon Go players to collaborate?

Saving the best for last, The Silph Road has remained the biggest and best-organized site for Pokémon Go players to collaborate. In addition to their comprehensive Pokédex and countless guides on Pokémon Go, they have a Map that has all the Nest locations with both confirmed and rumored Nest spawns.