Walk with friends
One audio walk for the group, each in their own language
Yes, friends can listen to an audio tour together. In Xploreo you build a walk and show a QR code, and up to five friends with the app join it on their own iPhones for 24 hours. You lead: when a story starts for you, it starts for each of them at the same moment, in the language their app is set to.
The problem
One audio guide, several people
Most audio guides are made for one pair of ears. A group ends up sharing earbuds, reading aloud from one screen, or pressing play on five phones and drifting out of step within a minute. When the group speaks more than one language, someone always gets the story second-hand.
A shared walk in Xploreo fixes both. Everyone listens on their own phone, in their own headphones, and the story starts for all of you at once, because it starts when the person leading the walk gets there.
Step by step
How to start a group walk
The person who builds the walk is the host. It takes four steps and about a minute, and you can do it standing on the pavement with everyone around you.
Build the walk
Choose how long you want to walk and Xploreo builds a loop from where you stand. Or pick a destination on the map and walk there, with stops on the way.Tap Invite
The route preview has an Invite button. It shows a QR code, the walk's code under it, and a link you can copy or send.Friends join
Each friend scans the QR code with their iPhone camera, opens the link, or types the code in the app. Nobody signs up.Start walking
The walk appears on everyone's map. You lead: when you reach a stop and its story starts, it starts on every phone.
For guests
What your friends see and hear
Your walk on their own map. The stops are there in order, and while the link is active guests see where you are, so nobody gets lost if they stop for a photo.
The story you are playing, at the same moment. It plays from their own phone into their own headphones, so nobody has to crowd round a speaker.
Their own language. Each guest hears the story in the language their app is set to. A group of friends from different countries can walk together without anyone translating.
A pause button of their own. A guest can pause and carry on from their own phone without stopping anyone else. Starting stories and changing the route stay with the host, which keeps everyone on the same stop.
Limits
Five friends, 24 hours
A walk takes up to five guests besides you, so a group of six. The link works for 24 hours from the moment you share it: long enough for a whole day out, with lunch and a museum in the middle.
Each friend needs Xploreo on their own iPhone, so ask them to install it before you meet rather than on the street corner.
Privacy
No accounts, for anyone
Nobody creates an account, the host included. Guests join with a code, not with a name or an email address. While the link is active, guests can see where the host is on the map; that is what lets a straggler find the group again.
Walks are saved on each person's phone, not in an account. The details are in the privacy policy.
Tips
Making a group walk work
- Everyone brings headphones. One earbud in keeps you hearing the story and each other.
- Charge phones before you set off. Every phone is playing audio and following the map.
- Pick a length for the slowest walker. A shorter loop with time to linger beats a long one where half the group is always catching up.
- Regroup at the stops. The story starts when the host arrives, so anyone a few steps behind hears it as they catch up.
Where
Where to walk together
Group walks work in every city on the map: Barcelona, Rome and Berlin. For ideas, try the Gothic Quarter walking route or Rome after sunset, and ask the app for a loop of the same length from where your group is standing.
How the loop is built and when a story starts are on how it works. Walking on your own? See the self-guided audio tour app.
FAQ
Walking together
Can friends listen to an audio tour together?
Yes. Up to five friends join your walk by QR code or link. When a story starts for you, it starts on each of their phones at the same moment.
Can each person hear the story in a different language?
Yes. Each guest hears the story in the language their app is set to, at the same moment as everyone else.
How many people can join, and for how long?
Up to five guests besides you, for 24 hours from the moment you share the walk.
Do my friends need the app or an account?
They need Xploreo on their own iPhone. Nobody needs an account, the host included.
Who controls the walk?
You do, as the host. Guests see where you are and hear the story you play; each of them can pause and carry on from their own phone.
Bring your friends. Hear it together.
Put your headphones in, pick a city, start walking.
