Nearby Feature
The Nearby feature in Pokemon GO wasn’t something that had been added in, but more something that got completely removed and reworked since the game’s launch. When trainers first started exploring their nearby surroundings for wild Pokemon, many were finding that the Nearby feature, which used different numbers of footprints below the silhouette of a ‘mon to indicate how close one was to you, simply didn’t work. Seemingly unable to fix it in the chaos of the hype-fueled launch, Niantic removed the feature promising it would return. Months later, it finally did.
When Nearby first returned on the scene, it would only show Pokemon that were close to nearby PokeStops. Not the most useful feature for those who weren’t nearby any PokeStops. Niantic then released a Sightings option and tweaked the Nearby distance a little, too. Now, players who weren’t nearby a PokeStop could check sightings of nearby Pokemon, while Nearby would alert them to any near PokeStops. It was a handy way to accommodate to both players living in rural and urban environments, and have players having a useful way to check what was nearby that they could chase.
