You might notice you received a sponsored gift when arriving at a PokéStop or Gym and spinning its photo disc in Pokémon Go. These new gifts look similar to the yellow and white ones you receive from friends, but inside of another trainer on your friend list, it’s from a local business nearby that you may have known about or have visited before. These gifts are ways for local businesses to try and promote themselves in the game. While they have items inside of it, they also contain messages about encouraging you to visit one of their nearby retail locations. You can do these off by clicking one of the options in the settings menu.
The option to turn these off is in the settings menu. Click on the PokéBall center icon on the first screen in Pokémon Go, and then click the cog on the upper right section of your screen. Scroll down until you see the “show sponsored gifts,” and you will no longer receive them when visiting a PokéStop or Gym. You don’t always receive a sponsored gift when you visit a PokéStop, though, and there’s a maximum limit you can earn every day. But for those who want to avoid seeing a business’ message to encourage them to visit their location, there’s no harm in removing them.
You won’t be missing too much from turning this feature off. It does offer a handful of additional items if you receive one, but it’s a random chance to obtain it from a PokéStop, and it’s only a handful. It’s not a bad idea for those in desperate need of additional Poké Balls or potions to keep it on.
