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Murmur for iPhone · iOS 17 or later · Last updated 8 November 2026 (Murmur 1.1)

What Murmur does

Murmur has two parts. The map: start a thread right where you are; anyone nearby can read it and reply, and when its time is up the thread melts away. The trail: where you went each day, drawn as a snake that stays on this iPhone.

Your account

Signing in

Murmur uses Sign in with Apple. We never receive your name or email address. After signing in, on “Before you start”, you confirm that you are 18 or older and agree to the Terms of Use and Community Guidelines.

Signing out and deleting your account

• Sign out: Me → Sign out.
• Delete your account: Me → Delete account, choose whether to delete the trail on this phone as well, then confirm with Apple once more. The threads you started, your replies, follows and block list are all deleted and can’t be recovered. Suspended accounts and accounts that haven’t finished “Before you start” can be deleted too. See the Privacy Policy.

Threads on the map

• Start a thread: tap “+” in the middle of the tab bar, write what’s happening here (up to 280 characters), add up to 3 tags, choose whether it melts in 1 hour, 24 hours or 7 days, then tap “Post”.
• Location: a thread’s location is blurred to about 150 m and it shows up on the map only after 0–3 minutes. Starting a thread needs Precise Location; turn it on in Settings → Murmur → Location.
• Melting: every new reply keeps a thread alive a little longer, up to a limit. When its time is up, the thread disappears, and 24 hours later it is deleted from the server.
• Following and notifications: threads you start or reply to are followed automatically, and you’re notified when one of them gets a new reply. Me → Notifications takes you to iOS Settings to turn them on or off.
• Lenses: save the area, time and tags you want to see. Lenses are kept only on this phone.
• You in this thread: in each thread you’re a little emoji and a name. Inside a thread, tap your picture at the left of the reply bar to get another one or choose your own emoji and name (up to 8 characters); when you start a thread, tap “Automatic” to choose your own. It’s used only in that thread, and nobody can tell it’s you anywhere else.

Messages you may see when posting

“Under review. It’ll show up on the map once it’s approved.”

The automatic check thinks it may break the rules, so a person needs to look at it. We handle this within 24 hours. If you started it with a name you chose, the name waits too; we may approve the post without the name, and you go back to automatic in that thread.

“This doesn’t follow the community guidelines.”

The content clearly breaks the Community Guidelines and wasn’t posted.

“This seems to include a phone number, address, license plate or ID number. Take it out and try again.”

To protect everyone, these can’t appear in a thread, including your own.

“You’re posting a bit fast. Try again later.”

There’s an hourly limit on threads, replies and reports, and it’s lower in a new account’s first 7 days.

“Your account has been suspended for breaking the community guidelines.”

The account is muted or suspended and can’t start threads or reply. See “Appeals” below.

“That name can’t be used. Try another, or go back to automatic.”

You started a thread with a name you chose and the automatic check stopped it, so it wasn’t posted; your draft is still there. It may be the name or the text: try another name, or go back to automatic and post again to find out.

“That name is reserved. Try another.”

The built-in names, and names that look like the poster, a moderator or Murmur itself, can’t be chosen.

Reporting and blocking

• Report a thread: tap “⋯” at the top right of the thread, choose “Report” and a reason, and add a note if you like.
• Report a reply: touch and hold the reply, then choose “Report”.
• We handle reports within 24 hours. When 3 different people report the same post, it’s hidden until it has been reviewed.
• Block the author: choose “Block the author” in the thread’s “⋯” menu, or touch and hold a reply and choose “Block this person”. You won’t see their threads or replies any more, and they can’t reply to your threads.
• Unblock: Me → Blocked people. To protect privacy, the list only keeps the tag and the date of the thread where you blocked someone.
• If someone is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first (in Taiwan: police 110, fire and ambulance 119).

Appeals

If your content was removed, or your account was muted or suspended, and you think we got it wrong, email w.yihhsuan@gmail.com with roughly when it happened and what it was about (for example the thread’s tags, place and date). We’ll check our moderation records and aim to reply within 7 days; if the appeal is upheld, your account is reinstated. See the Terms of Use.

The trail

Murmur draws where you went each day as a snake: square by square, each segment shows how you were moving, and the places you stopped are fruit. Everything is worked out on the phone, and your trail stays on this iPhone.

• Start recording: open the Trail tab and tap “Start recording”, or later turn on “Record Trail” in Trail settings.
• See a sample first: before you’ve been anywhere, tap “See a sample day” on today’s trail.
• Everything else: “Map / Snake” at the top of today’s trail switches between the route on Apple Maps (the default) and the snake; tap the map to see it full screen. The calendar button shows a month of little snakes, and Trail settings has the snake skin, the pen colour and how long to keep your trail.

Set Location to “Always”

To record a whole day, Murmur needs your location while it’s closed, too. Go to Settings → Murmur → Location and choose “Always”. “While Using the App” works as well, but recording stops when you swipe the app closed, and Battery Saver recording needs “Always”.

Turn on Precise Location

With Precise Location off, iOS only gives a rough location within a few kilometres. That can’t draw a route or start a thread. Turn on Precise Location in Settings → Murmur → Location and recording starts again by itself.

Motion & Fitness

Tells walking, running, cycling and riding apart. When it’s off, the whole day is drawn as walking. Turn it on in Settings → Murmur.

The snake doesn’t appear

• Check that “Record Trail” is on in Trail settings.
• Check that Location is “Always” or “While Using the App”, and that Precise Location is on.
• The snake appears once you have actually moved (more than about 20 metres). If you’ve stayed in one place all day, today’s trail says “No movement yet today”.
• A place you stopped at sometimes only turns into fruit after you leave it.

Battery

“Precise” tracks you continuously while you move: the most accurate line, but it uses more battery. “Battery Saver” records only when your location changes a lot. It barely uses any battery, but the line is rougher (and it needs Location set to “Always”). Switch between them in Trail settings → Recording mode.

Improve with Apple Maps

Turn it on in Trail settings to snap your route to roads and show the names of the places you stopped. While it’s on, a few points along your route are sent to Apple Maps, never to us. It’s off by default.

Locking with Face ID

Turn on “Lock with Face ID” in Trail settings, and the Trail tab asks you to unlock it first.

Deleting your trail

• Automatically: in Trail settings → Keep trail for, choose 7 days, 30 days or Forever. Older days are deleted automatically.
• All at once: Trail settings → Delete all trail. Once you confirm, every day is deleted from the phone and can’t be recovered.
• Deleting the app deletes your trail as well. The trail isn’t in iCloud or computer backups, so once it’s deleted it can’t be brought back.

Reporting a problem

Helpful details: what you expected, what actually happened, your iPhone model and iOS version, and roughly when it happened. A screenshot helps too; if it would show your real route or location, feel free to crop it or leave it out. If part of a trail is missing, you can also send the diagnostics log from Me → tap Version 5 times → Diagnostics → Export. It has no locations, posts or account details; see the Privacy Policy.