Questions people ask
Everything about On The Run, answered.
Fifteen questions, and the short answer to each. If yours is not here, email us.
The basics
What is On The Run?
On The Run is a free iPhone app for playing hide and seek across a real city. One team hides, everyone else hunts. The hiders get a head start, then keep giving away their position until a seeker catches them or the clock runs out.
How do you play hide and seek in a city?
The host draws the play area on the map, sets the rules, and splits everyone into hiders and seekers. The hiders run during a head start, then must reveal their position at fixed intervals. Seekers use those reveals to close in and catch a hider in person. Full rules, playable with or without the app →
Is this the same as manhunt?
Close, with one rule added. Manhunt is usually one group chasing another, with nothing forcing the runners into the open. So it ends with everybody sitting in a bush until they get bored. On The Run keeps the chase and adds the part that makes it a game. The hiders have to give their position away every 20 minutes. Each reveal then holds them still for 5 minutes, right where they sent it. Hiding still works. Camping does not.
How is On The Run different from Jet Lag: The Game?
On The Run is not affiliated with Jet Lag: The Game, which is a YouTube show made by Standard Broadcast. If that show is what brought you here, the shape will feel familiar. The hiders have to keep giving their position away while the seekers close in. On The Run is the version you play in your own city on a normal evening. The app draws the play area, runs the head start, times every reveal and holds the freeze. Nobody has to referee it. A game takes a few hours rather than a week, and all you need is a phone instead of a train network.
How many players do you need?
Two is enough: one hider and one seeker. It gets better with more, because seekers can spread out and cover exits while the hiders have to stay together. A free game holds five, a Pro game has no upper limit, and anyone who joins after the start becomes a seeker.
Do you need an account to play?
No. There is no account, no email address, no password, and no signing in with anything. You type a name for the game and that is all. The host taps Play now and gets a five-digit code to share with everyone else.
Does it work in any city?
Yes. There are no prebuilt maps and no list of supported cities. The host draws the play area freehand on the map wherever they are, so it works in any town, any neighbourhood, or a single park. Everyone plays inside the line the host drew.
The rules
How long does a game last?
The host picks the end time, and the default is six hours. Shorten it and tighten the gap between reveals for a faster game. It also ends the moment a seeker catches a hider, so a game can be over in twenty minutes.
How do the hiders win?
Reach the end time without being caught, with every dare finished. Both halves matter: leave one dare undone when the clock runs out and the seekers win instead. Catch one hider and the whole team is caught, so the hiders have to move together.
What happens if you leave the play area?
You have fifteen seconds to get back inside. Stay out and the app sends every seeker your exact location, and repeats that ping every two minutes until you return. Leaving the play area is the one thing that gives away your live position.
What are the dares for?
The host sets up to ten dares the hiders must clear before the end time. Each one needs a photo, and that photo goes straight to the seekers. Finishing a dare tells the seekers where you have been, so hiding well and winning pull against each other.
Can you schedule a game for later?
Yes, and scheduling a game is part of On The Run Pro. Pick a day and time, set a meetup place on the map, and let everyone say whether they are coming. It lands in their calendar and updates if you move the day. When the time comes, the app pulls everyone back into the lobby.
Price, privacy and your phone
Can the seekers see my location?
Never live. The only things that leave your phone are reveals you chose to send and pings you earned by breaking a rule. Seekers see a photo or a pin at fixed intervals, not a moving dot. Routes appear once, in the recap, after the game.
Is On The Run free?
Yes, free to download and free to play, and joining a game is always free. On The Run Pro is a one-time purchase for the host, with no ads, no subscriptions and nothing that renews. Your location is read only while a game is running, and it is not sold to data brokers or used to track you across other apps.
Does it run with the phone locked?
Yes. The game runs from your pocket with the screen off, so you can keep your hands free and your eyes up. Just do not force-quit the app mid-chase. Location is read while a game is running, and never before it starts or after it ends.
Get the app
Free to download, and free to join a game. Everyone playing needs it on their own phone.
Still stuck?
Email support@ontherun.app. If you are reporting a problem, include the version number from the bottom of the app's Settings screen.