Comparison

Cold Case Tracer vs Traced · Cold Case Detective

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Cold Case Tracer

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Traced · Cold Case Detective

Features
Read full description

Someone's lying. Someone's missing. Their phone knows the truth. Traced is an immersive true crime investigation game where every case starts the same way: the case file hands you the evidence phone and you dig through it. Read their messages, browse their photo gallery, scroll their social apps, open their notes, calendar and deleted files. Nothing is random. Every contact, every photo, every lie hides a clue. Connect them, answer the investigator's questions and close the case. Each Traced episode is a complete cold case: a disappearance, a murder, a double life. You play the detective from inside the victim's or the suspect's phone, exactly the way a real investigator would. WHAT YOU GET • Realistic phone investigation: a fully fake phone with messages, photos, socials, notes, maps and more to explore • A new episode every week: unsolved cases, murders, missing persons, secret lives • Detective questions: prove your theory, check your progress, unlock the ending • A dark, typewriter-and-polaroid atmosphere made for true crime fans All cases, characters, conversations and photos in Traced are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people is coincidental. FREE & PRO The first questions of every episode are free. Traced Pro unlocks all episodes and all questions, with no ads. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Cancel anytime in your App Store settings. Privacy Policy: https://maple-sound-4fd.notion.site/Privacy-Policy-Traced-3c8e5143b6d280a38262c19682a25d71 Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Cold Case Tracer4 screens
Traced · Cold Case Detective4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Cold Case Tracer at none against Traced · Cold Case Detective's shown. Traced · Cold Case Detective's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Cold Case Tracer sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days and Traced · Cold Case Detective sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Cold Case Tracer versus Traced · Cold Case Detective: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCold Case TracerTraced · Cold Case Detective
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (46 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews28.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings46 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 days—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size130 MB91 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperOguzhan YildirimGregoire Collin

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Cold Case Tracer

Subscriptions3
  • Redstring Pass — Weekly$6.997 Days
  • Annual Pass — Special Offer$19.991 Year
  • Redstring Pass — Annual$39.991 Year
One-time4
  • Reveal the Answer$1.99
  • 5 Reveals$4.99
  • 10 Reveals$7.99
Show 1 more
  • All Cases — Lifetime$49.99
2 purchases

Traced · Cold Case Detective

Subscriptions2
  • Traced Pro – Weekly Access$5.997 Days
  • Traced Yearly$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Cold Case Tracer free?
Cold Case Tracer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Traced · Cold Case Detective free?
Traced · Cold Case Detective is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cold Case Tracer or Traced · Cold Case Detective have ads?
Traced · Cold Case Detective shows ads; Cold Case Tracer does not.

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