How to add, refer friends using your contacts list in Pokémon Go

Niantic has officially pushed a new feature live in Pokémon Go that will let players add friends in-game directly from their phone’s contact list. 

This is done through a new setting that lets Pokémon Go search your contacts for other people who play the game. Any discoverability and contacts list sync permissions can be changed in the settings at any time, and only players who have the contact list sync active will be discovered through this method. 

Players can invite others to play the game and be friends using this method, and if those players haven’t played in a while, you can also give them your referral code. This will give both of you rewards as they hit new milestones when returning to the game. 

Related: How to send and redeem a referral code in Pokémon Go

So if you want to add your friends without needing to deal with friend codes and other methods, here is how you can do so by using the contacts list sync feature. 

• Go to the Add Friends screen and tap “Add Friends from Contacts”
  • You can also opt into being discoverable by other 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 in the Pokémon Go app
  • From there, you can add them to your Friend List by tapping “Send Friend Request” or refer them to the game by clicking “Invite to Play”