What are sponsored gifts in Pokémon Go?

You may encounter a sponsored gift when visiting a PokéStop in Pokémon Go. It’s an additional gift on top of the standard PokéStop items you receive after spinning the dial. The sponsored gift looks like a gift you would receive from a friendly trainer on your friend list, but it’s colored a dark pink than the traditional yellow and white shade. Why did you receive a sponsored gift?

A sponsored gift arrives after spinning a PokéStop or Gym photo disc after receiving your initial items for arriving at that location. It springs up on your screen, and it comes with a letter from a local business in your area. You do not have to accept the sponsored gift. Alternatively, you can choose to close the screen, which means you don’t receive any of the items inside of it. If you do accept it, click the accept button like you would receiving a gift from a friend, and there’s an additional message from the business. The message usually encourages players to visit a local establishment nearby. These gifts were added to assist local businesses and notify trainers of their location while exploring a town.

Much like friend gifts, you can only receive a certain amount per day, and these are random. They do not always show up at the same PokéStop.

Beyond the sponsored message that comes from the gift, there’s nothing too different from it and receiving one from a friend. However, you likely cannot receive a 7-kilometer egg from these ones. You don’t have to receive any of these after having one pop up at a PokéStop. Go to the settings in your main menu screen, and scroll down to the feature of “Show Sponsored Gifts,” to uncheck that part. No more sponsored gifts will show up for you moving forward.