Your Pokémon GO Account: Logging In, Linking and Staying Secure

Your Pokémon GO progress lives on the game's servers, not on your phone. What ties it to you is the login method you picked on your first day. Most players never think about it again until they get a new phone, tap the wrong sign-in button and find themselves looking at a brand-new trainer.

How signing in works

For most players, Pokémon GO has no username and password of its own. You sign in through an account you already have with another provider, and the game remembers which provider account your trainer belongs to. The options have included Google, Apple, Facebook and the Pokémon Trainer Club, which is run by The Pokémon Company, and which ones appear can depend on your device.

This design has two consequences:

• Your security is only as good as the provider account. If someone gets into the account you use to sign in, they can get into your trainer too.
• Each provider account is a separate identity. Signing in with an account the game hasn't seen before doesn't find your trainer. It creates a new one.

The wrong-button problem

A lot of "lost account" scares start the same way: a player reinstalls the game or switches phones, taps a different sign-in option from the one they originally used (or the right provider with a different email address), and the game starts the tutorial for a fresh trainer. The original trainer is usually fine, just attached to a different login.

If this happens to you, don't start playing on the new account. If the game has already created a trainer on that login, the login now belongs to that trainer, so don't count on linking it to your original account later. Sign out from the settings menu, then try each provider and email address you might have used until your real trainer name appears. Once you're back in, write down which method worked, somewhere you'll find it again.

Linking a backup login

The game lets you link more than one sign-in method to the same trainer, so that if you lose access to one, the other still works. It's one of the most effective protections against a lockout.

1. Sign in as usual and confirm your own trainer name and level appear.
2. Open the main menu and go to Settings. The label varies between app versions; look for an entry about your account or linked sign-ins. It lists the methods already linked to your trainer, so check it now, while everything works.
3. Choose a second provider account that you'll control for the long term, ideally one you know how to recover. It must not already be tied to another trainer, even one started by accident, or the game will generally refuse the link.
4. Complete that provider's sign-in and approve the link.
5. Test it: sign out, sign back in with the new method, and confirm it opens the same trainer.

Always add a new method before removing an old one; unlinking your only working login is the quickest way to lock yourself out.

A security checklist

• Use a strong, unique password on the account behind your game login.
• Turn on two-step verification wherever your sign-in provider offers it.
• Keep recovery details current. An old phone number or abandoned email address can make an account impossible to recover.
• Link a replacement before closing an account. If you plan to delete the email or social account you sign in with, link another login to your trainer first.
• Keep your login inside the official app. Any site, tool or person that asks for it, whether to scan the map, generate coins, play for you or buy the account, is a scam or a rule break. Our fair play guide explains what's at stake.

Spotting phishing

Account phishing usually copies a login screen: a fake page can look just like the Google, Apple, Facebook or Trainer Club sign-in. Only sign in through the game's own buttons or the provider's own app, never from a link someone sends you. A verification code or sign-in alert you didn't ask for means someone may have your password: change it straight away and never pass the code on. Our page on staying safe in player communities covers other scams players run into.

If you really are locked out

1. Recover the provider account first. If you can't get into the Google, Apple, Facebook or Trainer Club account itself, use that provider's own recovery process. The game can't reset a password it doesn't hold.
2. Try every login you might have used. A "lost" trainer often turns out to be on a second email address, so check them all.
3. Gather details before contacting support: your trainer name, roughly when you last played, your login method and email, and your device. Our guide to contacting Pokémon GO support walks through the rest.

Younger players

Children can play with a parent's consent, and the age limit depends on the country. For players under it, the game has pointed families to a parent-approved sign-up option. The exact process has changed over time, so follow the current screen and the game's own help pages. If you're the parent, keep the login details and recovery email under your own control, so recovery never depends on a child remembering a password.

Common account questions

Can I merge two accounts into one?

No. Each trainer is separate, and progress, items, Stardust and PokéCoins can't be combined or moved between them. If you started a second trainer by accident, go back to your original one and leave the other alone. The game's guidelines have long called for one account per player.

Does reinstalling the app delete my progress?

No. Progress is stored online. Just make sure you know your login method before you uninstall; the account section of Settings shows it. Back after a break? Our Trainer Hub guides are a quick way to catch up on how the game works now.