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.
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.
- 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.
Traced · Cold Case Detective
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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
Verdict
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
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.
| Parameter | Cold Case Tracer | Traced · Cold Case Detective |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (46 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 28.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 46 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | — |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 130 MB | 91 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Oguzhan Yildirim | Gregoire Collin |
In-app purchases
Cold Case Tracer
- 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
Traced · Cold Case Detective
- Traced Pro – Weekly Access$5.997 Days
- Traced Yearly$29.991 Year
Questions
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Is Traced · Cold Case Detective free?
Do Cold Case Tracer or Traced · Cold Case Detective have ads?
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