CluePhone vs Cold Case Trace
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CluePhone
Explore a stranger's phone to uncover clues and solve mysteries. Piece together messages, photos, and more to crack fictional cases. Test your detective skills in a challenging, immersive experience.
- Explore a fictional phone with 16 apps
- Immersive mystery stories
- Detective Mode for case solving
- Available in 47 languages
- Fully offline gameplay
- Unlock content with Stalkie Pro
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Someone's missing. Their phone is all you have. CluePhone is a story-based detective game where you solve cases by exploring a stranger's phone. No hints, no hand-holding — just you and the evidence. READ EVERYTHING Scroll through their messages, photos, notes, calendar, emails, contacts, and social media. Every app hides a clue. Every conversation could be a lie. CONNECT THE DOTS Cross-reference chats, match dates to events, notice what doesn't add up. The truth is in there — buried in the details. PROVE IT When you think you've solved it, enter Detective Mode and answer the case questions. Only real detectives get them all right. FEATURES • A fully explorable fictional phone with 16 apps • Immersive mystery stories with twists and red herrings • Detective Mode: answer questions to close the case • Available in 47 languages • Fully offline — no account needed • Start free; unlock everything with CluePhone Pro CASE 01: WHERE IS MAYA? Maya has vanished without a trace. Her phone was left behind. What do her last messages reveal — and who is lying? All characters and events are entirely fictional. SUBSCRIPTION PRICING AND TERMS • CluePhone Pro is an auto-renewable subscription. • The Pro version is only $6.99/week. • Pricing in other countries may vary and charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country you live in. • The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/cluephone/privacy Contact: tr.fatma.atalay@gmail.com
Cold Case Trace
Uncover the truth by examining a simulated phone's messages, photos, and data. Connect clues on an evidence board and accuse the killer in this interactive detective story. Your first case is free to play.
- Simulated phone with chats, photos, and data
- Interactive live chat with client
- Evidence board with red string connections
- Escalating hint system
- Multiple European case locations
- Unlockable cases via subscription
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Someone is lying. The phone knows. Redstring is a found-phone detective story. A client messages you in a live chat, hands you the victim's phone, and asks you to find the truth — from the first message to the final accusation. Every text, photo, voice memo, bank line and map ping is evidence. Read between the lines. Crack the passcodes. Pin the red string. Name the killer. YOUR FIRST CASE IS FREE Play "The Kessler File" from the opening message to the verdict — a full investigation, with no paywall in the middle of the story. A LIVE CHAT WITH THE CLIENT The person who knew the victim talks to you the whole way — asking the questions, reacting to your answers, and finally asking you to name a suspect. Type what you found; the story reacts. SNOOP A FULLY SIMULATED PHONE - Chats and DMs, including the deleted ones - A gallery with Hidden and Recently Deleted albums - Locked notes, voice memos, calendar, bank statements, browser tabs and location history - Every app can hide a clue. Nothing is random. PIN IT ON THE BOARD Your evidence board pins each discovery and links it with red string. Leave for days, come back, and the case is exactly where you left it — progress is saved per case. STUCK? ASK FOR A HINT Up to three escalating hints per question nudge you toward the evidence without spoiling the answer. Smart answer-matching understands what you mean. NAME THE TRUTH The final question is an accusation. Get it right and the case closes; get it wrong and you can reconsider the suspects. 10 CASES AT LAUNCH — MORE ON THE WAY Murder, disappearance, blackmail and betrayal across Europe — Paris, Berlin, Lisbon, Vienna, Amsterdam, Prague, Copenhagen and Barcelona. Fully playable in 8 languages. REDSTRING PASS Case 1 is free forever. The Redstring Pass unlocks every case: - Weekly: $4.99 per week - Annual: $29.99 per year - Lifetime: $39.99 one-time — not a subscription Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; manage or cancel anytime in Settings - Apple Account - Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://redstring-98526.web.app/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://redstring-98526.web.app/privacy.html Redstring is a work of interactive fiction. All characters, phones, messages and events are fictional; any resemblance to real people or events is coincidental. The app never accesses your real messages, photos or data.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Cold Case Trace at 4.4 against CluePhone's 3.1. Cold Case Trace also leads on review sentiment (25% vs 0%) and ratings volume (62 vs 7). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. CluePhone sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days and Cold Case Trace sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Cold Case Trace holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cold Case Trace has 62 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of CluePhone's written reviews are positive against 25% of Cold Case Trace's.
CluePhone ships an update every 4 days, Cold Case Trace every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CluePhone | Cold Case Trace |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.1 (7 ratings) | 4.4 (62 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 25.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 62 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 135 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | fatma atalay | Oguzhan Yildirim |
Customer experience
CluePhone
Cold Case Trace
In-app purchases
CluePhone
- Stalkie Pro Weekly$6.997 Days
- Stalkie Pro — Annual$29.991 Year
Cold Case Trace
- Redstring Pass — Weekly$6.997 Days
- Annual Pass — Special Offer$19.991 Year
- Redstring Pass — Annual$39.991 Year
- Reveal the Answer$1.99
- 5 Reveals$4.99
- 10 Reveals$7.99
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- All Cases — Lifetime$49.99
Questions
Is CluePhone free?
Is Cold Case Trace free?
Which has better reviews, CluePhone or Cold Case Trace?
Do CluePhone or Cold Case Trace have ads?
Which is updated more often, CluePhone or Cold Case Trace?
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