Questions

What is Guideling?

An audio travel guide for iPhone. As you drive, ride, cycle or walk, it notices what's coming up, such as a castle, a mountain, a bridge or the reason a town is where it is, and tells you about it while you can still see it.

There's nothing to tap and nothing to search for. You put the phone down and travel, and it speaks when it has something worth saying.

Is there really an app that just tells you about places as you drive?

Yes, this one. Most travel apps wait for you to ask. Guideling goes first: it works out what's ahead on the road you're on, and starts talking early enough that you can still turn your head and see it. You never have to touch it while you're moving.

How is it different from an audio tour?

An audio tour is a fixed route somebody else planned, and you have to follow it. Guideling has no route. Drive anywhere and change your mind; it looks down whatever road you took, and times each story to where you are. Side by side, including when an audio tour is better.

Will it work with Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze?

Yes. Guideling doesn't navigate, so it doesn't compete with your map. Keep the one you like. It stays out of the way of turn instructions, so you'll never hear about a monastery over the top of "turn left in two hundred metres".

Do I have to look at the screen?

No. It's made to be used with the phone in a mount or a pocket, and everything it does, it does out loud. If you do look, the screen shows the last thing it said. Anything that needs reading, like the full text of a story or the settings, is for when you've stopped.

Does it work without an internet connection?

Mostly. It fetches stories and their recordings for the road several minutes before you need them, so tunnels, mountain passes and patchy coverage don't interrupt it. Give it a destination before you leave and it can load the whole route. What it can't do is tell you about a road it has never been given anything about.

Will it drain my battery?

It pays close attention when something is coming up, relaxes when the road is empty, and stops a few minutes after you park. The heavy work, finding places and researching and writing about them, happens once on our side, not on your phone.

Is it good for a family road trip?

It was built for that. Stories are short, spaced out and factual, and there's nothing to pass around or argue over. It stays quiet for long stretches rather than talking non-stop. What it does on a long drive.

Where in the world does it work?

Coverage grows road by road. When somebody travels a road nobody has travelled with it yet, Guideling reads up on it while they drive, so it's ready for the next person. The test group is limited to a few regions for now.

What languages does it speak?

English and Lithuanian today, with Spanish, Simplified Chinese, German, French, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Arabic, Hindi and Indonesian coming next. Every piece is written and fact-checked in English first, then translated by a model and checked again against the English: a translation that changes a number or a name, or points at something you cannot see, is thrown away rather than spoken. If you want a language that is not on the list, tell us at hello@guideling.app; it affects the order.

Does it work on foot, on a bike or on a train?

All three. At walking pace it starts about 45 metres ahead instead of a kilometre, and it can tell longer stories because you have time for them. It also talks differently to someone on foot, because what you can see and how long you have to look are different. Walking, cycling and trains.

How much does it cost?

The first five stories are free, including any you tap on the map to hear, and they don't expire. Once they're used it goes quiet, mid-trip if need be, until there's a pass. A pass keeps it talking for 1, 3 or 7 days: $2.99, $4.99 or $9.99 in the US. It's not a subscription and nothing renews. Pricing in full.

Can I ask it questions?

Yes. It's the one thing you start rather than it. Press one large button, ask out loud, and hear the answer. That needs a pass.

Without a pass, one tap on More gives you a longer version of the story you just heard.

Does it know where I go?

Not your exact route, unless you send a drive with feedback, which we keep for 90 days, or plan a route, which we keep for six hours while its stories are prepared. Your position is sent to work out what's ahead and isn't stored on our side. What we do keep about a trip — a rough area of about 5 km² per request, which stories were offered and how far ahead each was, and what you heard — says roughly where you went. Your phone keeps your last five drives so you can attach one; nothing is sent until you press Send, and turning off Record drives deletes them.

The places you've heard about are kept on our server under a random ID your phone made up. That's what counts your free stories and keeps them from resetting when you reinstall; your phone's own copy is what stops it repeating itself. No name or Apple ID is attached to it. No adverts, no tracking, no analytics companies. Everything we keep.

Do I need to create an account?

No, and there isn't one to create. The whole app works without telling us who you are. A pass you've bought comes back on a new phone through Restore, which finds it in the purchase history of the Apple ID that bought it.

Does it work in CarPlay?

Not on the car screen yet: that needs Apple's approval, which it doesn't have. The sound plays through CarPlay like any other app's.

Is there an Android version?

Not yet. The part that decides what to say and when was built so it can move to Android, but the Android app doesn't exist. Sign up anyway; the list is who hears first when it does.

When can I get it?

A small group is testing it now, and it isn't on the App Store yet. Leave your email and we'll write twice: when there's a version worth your time, and when it's on the App Store.