How to Enable Camera Permissions for Pokémon GO Buddy Features

Pokémon GO uses your phone's camera for AR features, including playing with your buddy in AR. If the app doesn't have camera access, it shows a message such as "Please enable camera permissions to play with your buddy". This guide shows how to grant that permission on iPhone and Android and how to check that it works.

Before you start

• Have Pokémon GO installed and be able to sign in. The game needs an internet connection to play, but the camera permission itself is a setting on your phone.
• Know your phone's operating system (iOS or Android) and roughly which version it runs. Settings names and locations differ between versions and manufacturers.
• Check that your device supports AR. AR features rely on the phone's AR platform: ARKit on iPhone, and Google Play Services for AR (ARCore) on supported Android phones.
• Close other apps that might be using the camera, such as video call or camera apps.

Granting the permission is reversible. You can turn camera access off again at any time from the same settings screen. If you are concerned about what the game does with camera images, check Niantic's current privacy policy rather than assuming how the footage is handled.

Step-by-step instructions

iPhone and iPad

• 1. Close Pokémon GO completely.
• 2. Open the Settings app.
• 3. Scroll down to the list of apps and tap Pokémon GO.
• 4. Turn on the Camera switch.
• 5. Reopen Pokémon GO and try the buddy AR feature again.

You can also go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera, which lists every app that has requested camera access, and enable Pokémon GO there. If the Camera option is missing from the app's settings page, the game may not have requested access yet. Open the game, start an AR feature, and accept the system prompt when it appears.

If the camera switch is greyed out or the camera seems blocked for all apps, check Screen Time. Under Content & Privacy Restrictions, the Camera can be disallowed system-wide, which overrides the per-app setting.

Android

• 1. Close Pokémon GO completely.
• 2. Open Settings and go to Apps (on some phones this is called Apps & notifications or Applications).
• 3. Find and tap Pokémon GO. You may need to choose "See all apps" first.
• 4. Tap Permissions, then Camera.
• 5. Choose "Allow only while using the app". "Ask every time" also works, but you will be prompted on each launch.
• 6. Reopen Pokémon GO and try the buddy AR feature again.

On Android 12 and later, there is also a system-wide camera access toggle in Quick Settings and in the privacy settings. If it is off, no app can use the camera even when its permission is granted, so make sure it is on. Phones from different manufacturers may label these menus slightly differently, but the Apps > Pokémon GO > Permissions path is the general pattern.

Check the output

Open your buddy and start an AR interaction. If the permission is working, you'll see a live camera view instead of the permission message. The game will usually ask you to move your phone slowly so it can detect a flat surface. Once it does, your buddy appears in the scene.

Image quality in AR depends on your phone's camera and processing, not on a setting you choose in the game. Resolution and frame rate vary between devices, and older or lower-end phones may show a less smooth feed. Lighting has a strong effect: dim rooms or plain, featureless surfaces make it harder for AR to find the ground, so test in a well-lit area with some visible texture on the floor or table.

Common problems and next steps

The message still appears after enabling the permission: fully close Pokémon GO (swipe it away from recent apps) and reopen it. Some changes only take effect after a restart. If that doesn't help, restart the phone.

The camera view is black or frozen: another app may be holding the camera. Close video call, camera, or screen-recording apps and try again. On Android, also confirm that the system-wide camera access toggle is on.

Permission was granted before but stopped working: reinstalling the game, updating the operating system, or Android's automatic permission reset for unused apps can remove previously granted permissions. Repeat the steps above to grant camera access again.

AR options are unavailable even with the permission granted: your device may not support the AR platform the game needs. On Android, check whether Google Play Services for AR is installed and up to date. AR-related options in the game's own settings may also be turned off, so review them after confirming the system permission.

You'd rather not give the game camera access: leave the permission off. AR buddy play won't be available, but you can check which buddy interactions still work without AR in your version of the game.