Onto TestFlight and Google Play

Setting up shop

The Apple Developer account is live, OtterWay has its own app ID, and we now have our own email at hello@theotterway.app. Small things, but they make it feel real. Google Play Console is being set up too, so Android walkers can join the testing.

The first TestFlight build

Testers planned walks, picked routes and rated them afterwards. Two asks came up straight away:

• Show directions on the lock screen, so you don’t have to keep unlocking your phone.
• Notice when someone goes a different way, without blaming the route.

What we’re building because of it

• Live walking directions on your lock screen.
• If you go a different way, Scout asks why at the end. A good reason, like a closed path, never counts against a route.
• Arrival check-ins: if you don’t reach your destination when expected and don’t reply, your trusted contact is told.
• Regular walks: after three walks on the same route, Scout spots it as one of yours.

What’s next

More testers on iPhone and Android, lock-screen directions, and lots of listening. If you want to hear about it each week, join the beta below.