FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Traces
What people ask before opening the first file.
No. Everything is made up: people, profiles, .fict websites, phone numbers reserved for fiction, places. Even the GPS coordinates of the photos fall in the open sea. No real person is ever searched for or identifiable.
No. Traces only contains made-up people and never goes on the real Internet. It is not a people-search tool: it's a game to learn verification reflexes, in a fictional world.
Yes. The twelve cases of season 1 and the snapshot game are free, with no ads and no account.
iPhone and iPad, with iOS 17 or later.
No. The cases and snapshots ship with the app and play in airplane mode. Only Game Center (optional) and the support link use the network.
Ten minutes for an easy case, twelve for a medium one, fifteen for a hard one. The clock only runs while the case is on screen.
Inès Ferrand, a journalist at the Vauclair Express, a newspaper as made-up as the town. She hands you the files and guides you at every step.
Your stamp and your evidence go together. If the file is refused, you don't know which of the two is wrong, and you lose one of your three credibility seals. Sealing on the first try is one of each case's three challenges.
Reread the statements one by one and, for each, look for the document that gives a time or a place. Then ask for help: every question has three steps, “Where to look”, “Inès's reasoning” and “The answer”.
A mini-game: a photo with no metadata, to place on the map and date, out of 1000 points. Ten snapshots to learn, a daily snapshot that's the same for everyone with a single attempt, and free snapshots once school is over.
Yes, on this device, with every move. Close the app: you pick up where you left off. The “Pinned card” widget reopens your board. There's no account and no sync.
In “My investigations”, from the home screen: every closed case pins its card there, to read whenever you like.
Everyday misdemeanours in a made-up seaside town: an empty cash box, fake reviews, graffiti, a dubious fundraiser, a leaked exam paper. Wrongdoing is mentioned, no violence is shown.
The interface is in French and English. The cases and snapshots of season 1 are written in French.