Places to stay are easier to explore: tap any stay in a list, on a map or under "Need a bed?" to open its page, read the whole description and message the owner on WhatsApp in one tap. "Need a bed?" now works offline too, and our Premium Plan partners show first. The quiz and many more screens now follow your app language, and a guide you pick is told so and can reply. Plus small fixes.

Clearer stays: every place to stay now says that you deal directly with the owner. We never handle bookings or payments and take no commission on stays, so the owner keeps everything you pay. Listings marked FEATURED or PRO say they are on our Premium Plan. Plus small fixes.

New in the packing list: a shop icon on the eSIM and travel insurance items, so you can sort both before you set off. It helps us keep the app free for everyone. Smoother on the trail: the hike screen no longer redraws everything every second, the map stays put when your signal comes and goes, and your walked line stays on it. If a trail download fails, the app now retries patiently instead of starting over at every reconnect, saving data and battery. Plus small fixes.

Audio guides and offline maps are free for everyone, for good. Your language, all the way through: the quiz, the community, the AI assistant, Buddy Finder, route pages, walking times and the daily briefing now read fully in the language you choose. AI answers are easier to scan, with bold highlights and amenity icons. The Trail Feed is now for signed-in hikers. Plus small fixes.

New: a full-screen map. Tap the four-arrows button to hide everything but the map, and tap it again to bring the panels back. Take and share trail photos in the app. Tap a stage to see places to stay on it, and a stay you tap on the map is brought into view. You can report or block anyone from Buddy Finder. Plus small fixes.

From 28 September 2026, Via Francigena Walk no longer offers daily check-ins, emergency contacts, live location sharing or safety alerts. It's a trail guide and navigation aid, not a safety service, so please use a dedicated safety app and tell someone your route before you set off. New: the map now credits its route data, route changes reach your phone on the next launch, and announcements appear in your app language. Plus small fixes.

Fixes, and a little more time. • The founders' free period now runs to 1 October, because walkers asked. The date comes from our servers, so changes reach you without an app update. • Places with no stage no longer show "Stage 0": stays, sites, restaurants, trip days and posts just show what they are. • Places to stay are easier to reach, from Find Services and from a stage's own count. • Fixed announcement links that opened nothing, and two mid-load crashes.

On phones set to dark, the app briefly flashed black every time it opened — before it had drawn anything. That is fixed, on every screen and every launch. The quiz is now a game. A clock and points per question, a leaderboard, your own history of past rounds, and challenges you can send to a friend to beat. Places to stay now show their own photos in the list and on the map, and listings on a paid plan carry a green or gold pin so you can see them at a glance. Also in this release: • A refresh that failed used to throw away the list you were reading. Now the list stays and the app tells you the refresh did not work. • The inbox no longer shows the same notification twice. • If a form will not submit, the app scrolls to the field that is blocking it instead of leaving the button looking dead. • Closing a problem report while it is still sending no longer deletes the photos you attached. • The quiz card no longer clips its last line at larger text sizes. • Messages that used to arrive as developer code now read in plain language, including when you have been tapping too fast. • Writing a review now asks you to sign in first, and a story needs a photo and a few words — the star rating stays optional. • When you ask the community a question, the app suggests which stage it is about — one tap, and you can skip it.

Creating an account is clearer. If something is missing, the app takes you straight to the field and says what is wrong — the Create account button no longer looks like it is doing nothing. The same applies to editing your profile, saving an emergency contact and changing your password. Messages from our server now read in plain English rather than developer code. If a purchase did not go through the first time, the app no longer risks charging you for it twice. You can turn community notifications off — push, email, or both — in Settings. Removing the screenshot from a problem report now removes the map picture with it, so nothing showing where you are is sent after you have said no. Dark mode is unavailable for now, while we finish the colour work behind it.

• Trail stories — read what other walkers wrote, and add your own with photos. • A rebuilt community: real threads, photos on questions, and an inbox for replies. • Ask about this stage — answers while you walk. • Partner discounts near you, and photos on the culture quizzes. • Push notifications now arrive properly. • Shake your phone to report a problem, then follow it in My reports. • Fixed: accommodation links that opened nothing, clearer walking stats.

Sign in with Apple Now offered when you create an account, alongside email. Culture quizzes A new tile on Explore. Answer a few questions about the Via Francigena and the places along it, moving back and forth between them as you go.

Browse before you sign up Explore trails, stages, maps and guides without an account. You're only asked to sign in for the things that are yours — saved routes, downloads and community features. Works without a signal Downloaded audio guides play offline. Trip Planner, Packing List, Buddy Finder and My Inquiries all work offline, and screens now say plainly what needs a connection instead of showing an error. On the trail • Your position updates continuously while the map is open. • Where a stage's shape hasn't downloaded, the map no longer draws a straight line across the terrain — it tells you what's missing. • Waypoint alerts, including danger zones, now work on hikes started from the map. • Tap a stage's label to open its details. • Take photos during a hike, or outside one. Report water where you stand Pass a water point and mark it running or dry in one tap, with a photo if you like. If it's dry, you can warn the walkers setting off tomorrow. On your lock screen Distance, time and what's coming next, on the lock screen and in the Dynamic Island. Requires iOS 16.1 or later. Safety Share a live tracking link with someone at home, and turn the emergency-contact watch on or off from the hike screen.

A fresh branded home screen, unified progress stats, an Offline Maps shortcut in Explore, plus stability and performance improvements.

Performance and reliability improvements, plus fixes across maps, navigation and the overall trail experience.

Fixes a bug where the app could incorrectly show an "offline" banner while you were connected. Plus performance improvements and stability fixes. Founders' offer: every audio guide is FREE until 31 August. Join before then and keep the full library forever.

Audio guides, narrated by professionals: walk up to a historic site and the story plays right where it happened — in your language. Founders' offer: every guide is FREE until 31 August. Join before then and keep the full library forever. Plus: performance improvements and fixes.