# HOTARU-AR World — Leave notes in real places.

> Leave notes in real places. (iPhone/iPad app by Tsubasa Yasui.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hotaru-ar-world/id6804875545 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Tsubasa Yasui](https://appshunter.io/developer/6790467418)
- Category: Social Networking
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.0 · 70 MB
- Languages: American English, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan)
- Released: 2026-09-25
- Data updated: 2026-10-14

## What is HOTARU?

HOTARU is a location-based AR messaging app. Leave AR messages and hints tied to where you are, for people nearby to find.

Place bread crumbs and information boxes to create small discoveries around town or at event venues. With HOTARU Premium, you can place without limits and place treasure chests, too.

KEY FEATURES
・Place AR messages at your current location
・Discover nearby bread crumbs and information boxes
・Open messages in AR
・Premium: unlimited placement and treasure chests

Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| HOTARU Premium | $2.99 | per month |


## Is HOTARU safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess HOTARU.

## Is HOTARU legit?

HOTARU-AR World appears legitimate, with a few gaps. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for HOTARU is 65 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.


## Version history (last 4 releases)

### 1.2 — 2026-09-30

- Opening a box now sends the light that appears inside it flying to your phone. An empty box stays behind.
- Redrew the inside of the treasure chest as a black hollow.
- Redesigned the bread object to look like a real loaf of sandwich bread.
- Messages can now contain line breaks. URLs become links, and you're asked to confirm before they open in your browser.
- Sound effects no longer play when your iPhone is in silent mode.
- Moved the sound-effect credits to Support & Account, and renamed the AR settings page "Haptics, Sound & Permissions".

### 1.1 — 2026-09-26

• Meet the Lantern, a new Premium-only object. It is a light you simply leave in place: light it and it turns from red to blue, and it stays lit for you. Tap it again to put it back.
• Placing coins is now a Premium feature, and you can no longer collect coins you placed yourself, so coins are something you collect from other people.
• Traditional Chinese is now supported.
• The language picker is now at the top of Settings, so it is easy to find in any language.
• The placement screen is clearer: pick what to place by its artwork, and confirming the spot is easier to see.
• The Premium screen now shows everything at a glance.

### 1.0.1 — 2026-09-25

The App Store page is now available in English and Traditional Chinese.

### 1.0 — 2026-09-25

No release notes.

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## More apps by Tsubasa Yasui

- [WhatDoYouWannaEat?](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whatdoyouwannaeat/id6790467206)
- [酔っ払ナビ](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/id6809324209)
- [Tessera - AIプレイグラウンド](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tessera-ai/id6816846953)

All apps by Tsubasa Yasui: https://appshunter.io/developer/6790467418

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-14.*