Last updated: November 4, 2026.
Unroamed is a free iPhone app for recording trips and sharing a replay of them.
Topics
- Sharing a Retrace: how links work, who can open them, expiry, deleting, reporting and what to do if you lose your phone.
Share with friends
See what friends earn and share what you choose. It runs on Unroamed’s own server, with no sign-up.
Add a friend: Show your QR code or share an invite link. Each link is for one person, works once and lasts 7 days.
Pick what a new friend sees: When you become friends, both phones show a popup: tap Pick what they see, or Later and then Pick next to them in Needs you. Share what most friends see turns on the usual in one tap. Nothing is shared until you do.
Take a Break: Friends settings › Take a Break. Friends aren’t told, and trips you record during the break are never shared. It also ends any live sharing, and you can’t start a new one during the break.
Share a trip live
Share live: On the trip that’s recording, beside its activity. Lets the friends you pick follow this trip on their map until it ends. The first quarter mile and your saved places stay hidden. Once it’s shared it reads Sharing live: tap it to add or remove people or stop sharing. Unlock live sharing for 150 RP in the General Store. Following a friend is always free.
Add people or stop live sharing: Tap Manage on the trip screen, then Add or remove people or Stop sharing, or tap Stop on your lock screen. It ends on its own when the trip ends. Apple’s Safety Check can turn off Unroamed’s location access, which stops recording and live sharing, but it can’t see who you share with inside Unroamed. Check Sharing live now for that. It also says when you’re in a privacy zone and friends can’t see you.
It’s not for emergencies.
Unlock extras with Roam Points (RP)
Record trips to earn RP, most on foot and on new ground. See what counts in Achievements. RP isn’t sold.
Spend RP in the General Store to unlock new things. Spending lowers the big number only. Everything you’ve ever earned stays as your lifetime RP, and that’s what friends and competitions see.
Press and hold its Unlock button until it fills, about a second. Let go early and nothing is spent. An unlock is yours for good, and your backups keep it.
Find forest roads and trails
Open Layers and turn on Trails. Under it are Forest roads, OHV trails, Hiking and Biking, each with a sample of its line: roads are thin brown dashes, OHV trails red dashes, hiking trails solid pink and biking trails solid blue. They cover every national forest and show from about 30 miles across, and Hiking and Biking cover state parks too. State park trails come from OpenStreetMap, where volunteers map them, so check the park’s signs and rules. Tap a line for its name, allowed uses, any listed dates and difficulty.
Each kind with a lock unlocks for 100 RP in the General Store: Forest roads, OHV trails, and Hiking and biking together. Tap the lock to go there. It’s yours for good.
Collect national parks and Park Service sites
Collection has stamps for national parks, Park Service sites, state parks, counties, national forests, public lakes and famous drives.
You only collect while recording with a good GPS signal. Never in Flight, and never from the sample trip or imported trips.
State parks, national parks, Park Service sites and counties: get 330 ft inside, or stay inside for 2 minutes. Very small Park Service sites, like a historic home or a memorial: stay inside or within 330 ft for 2 minutes. Driving by doesn’t count.
Use the map without signal
Save the area first in Settings › Offline maps. Tap Add area, move the map until the frame holds the place, up to 50 miles across, and tap Save. You can keep 10. Trails you’ve unlocked and their ratings come with it. The street map is saved, but Satellite, Topo and shaded relief still need a connection. Recording works without signal either way.
See your steps
Unlock the step counter for 50 RP in the General Store. It asks Apple Health for your step count, then each trip you record shows its steps, without pauses or trimmed parts. Your steps stay on your phone. No steps? Allow them in the Health app: tap your picture, then Apps, then Unroamed.
Keep going after ending a trip
Tap Continue trip on the trip or the Trip saved card. It’s there on your latest recorded trip for 12 hours after you end it, when nothing is recording and its end hasn’t been trimmed. It stays one trip, and the time in between counts like a pause.
To undo a Continue trip, tap Stop, then Discard. It throws away only what you recorded since you continued, and the trip goes back to how it was when you ended it.
Save a Retrace as a video
Tap Video, then Record. It uses your Retrace as you set it up, photo stops and map layers too. Change the speed or pinch to zoom while it records, and tap Stop when you’re done. It ends on your trip and the map credits. Then tap Save to Photos or Share. Still locked? Tap Video, then Open General Store, and hold Unlock on Retrace videos.
Keep Unroamed open and your screen unlocked while it records. If your phone closes the map, the unfinished video is discarded. Tap Video to try again. If storage runs low, the video ends early and you can save what it recorded.
The video goes only where you save or send it. Unroamed never uploads or keeps it, and leaving without saving deletes it.