How FanFam works

If you're running

1. 1

   Make your profile

   In the iPhone app tap I'm new: create my profile, or on the website tap I'm running. Just a first name, with no account or password.

2. 2

   Share your FanFam link

   Tap Share FanFam link (or Tell my FanFam) and send it to your family WhatsApp group or anyone who'd like to cheer.

3. 3

   Approve your fans

   People who open your link ask to join. They appear on your home screen; tap Approve. Nobody can follow you or send cheers until you do.

4. 4

   Set up your run

   Tap What are you running today? Pick a distance and target time if you like (fans then see whether you're ahead or behind), and start now or schedule it. Scheduling lets fans record messages for the start line.

5. 5

   Run, with headphones in

   Tap Start run, or tap I'm heading out today and the app starts by itself when you start running. Cheers play in your headphones with a little chime, even with your phone locked, and are held back for a moment around your running app's split announcements.

Try it without leaving the house: start a run, then switch on Simulate run (for testing at home) at the bottom of the run screen. Ask a fan to send you a cheer.

When the iPhone app asks for permissions: choose Always for location (so tracking keeps going with the screen locked and can start by itself), allow Motion & Fitness (to notice you've started running) and allow notifications. Your exact location never leaves your phone; fans only see distance, time and pace.

If you're cheering

1. 1

   Open the runner's link

   Tap the FanFam link they sent you. No app needed: it works in your phone or computer's web browser, on iPhone and Android.

2. 2

   Ask to join

   Type your name and tap Ask to join. Once the runner approves you, the page shows their runs.

3. 3

   Follow along and cheer

   While they run you'll see their distance, time and pace live. Tap the big button to record a cheer (up to 15 seconds); it plays in their headphones. You can also leave messages for a scheduled run's start line, and send congratulations when they finish.

Shared phone? Fill in the From box before sending (for example "Ella") so the runner knows who it's from. The kids can each send their own.

On an iPhone? The FanFam app (beta) adds an alert when your runner starts, and their run live on your lock screen. Get the iPhone beta. Then tap the runner's link again and it opens in the app.

Questions