How to use Nellie

Updated 15 October 2026

Open the app wherever you are, pick something from the list, choose how you want to hear about it, and your iPhone reads you a short, sourced story.

Nellie is named for Nellie Bly, the reporter who went around the world in 72 days in 1889–90. She went to see for herself; so does this app, one block at a time.

Install

You need an iPhone running iOS 26 or later and an internet connection. Saved stories work offline.

Nellie is in beta on TestFlight, where it’s still listed as What’s That – Walk & Listen. Once installed, it appears on your home screen as Nellie. It’s not on the App Store yet.

On your iPhone, install TestFlight from the App Store.
On the iPhone, open the join link testflight.apple.com/join/jCXzd2vx, tap Accept, then Install.
When a new build is ready, TestFlight lets you know. Tap Update to get it.

The beta has a limited number of spots. If the link says it’s full, email muthu.vellayan@gmail.com.

No account is needed. The first launch shows three short welcome pages. On the location page, tap Allow location, then Allow While Using App. The app never uses your location in the background. If you’d rather not share it, tap Not now and use Somewhere else.

Nearby

The first tab shows where you are and what’s worth knowing within a short walk. A first list appears in a couple of seconds. A few seconds later Nellie’s picks replace it, each with a one-line hook; Choosing shows beside the heading while that happens.

Map: the dark dot is you. Numbered pins match the list. Tap the expand button for a full-screen map, then tap a pin and Open story.
Filters: All, Sights, History, Places of Worship, Museums, Nature, Coffee, Food, and Activities. Choosing one asks for a fresh list of that kind.
Distance: tap the distance at the end of the filter row (for example 400 m) to search 400 m, 800 m, or 1.5 km.
Each place shows its number, name, a one-line hook, a photo when Wikipedia has one, and a line like 2 min walk · 120 m · ahead-left · history. Walk times are estimates. “Ahead-left” follows the way your phone is facing.

Pull down to refresh. The list also updates after you’ve walked about 75 m. If nothing interesting is close, the app widens the search to 1.5 km once.

Somewhere else

Explore a place you aren’t at: tap Somewhere else, search or drag the map until the pin is where you want it, and tap Explore here. Tap Back to my location under the header to return.

Stories & lenses

Tap a place to open its story. Under the photo, a row of lenses shows the three or four best ways into this place. Tap More for the rest. The story opens on the lens that suits the place best.

Lens	What you’ll hear
History	Origins, people, and how it changed
What Happened Here	One vivid episode, told as a scene
Architecture & Design	Style, materials, and what to look for
Nature & Geology	The land, plants, and stone underfoot
Right Now	Hours, events, and what to do in the next hour
Local Flavor	Food and drink within a five-minute walk
Unique Perspective	Where to stand, and the detail everyone misses
For Kids	The same facts for an eight-year-old, with a question to ask them
Deep Cut	Myths, disputes, and what locals argue about
Ask Nellie	No story; ask your own question

A story someone has already heard appears instantly, and the top two picks on each list are written ahead of time. Anything else takes 10–30 seconds to write. While you wait, the screen shows the place’s hook and a short Wikipedia summary. Below each story you’ll find its Sources, three suggested questions, and an Ask a follow-up field. Answers appear underneath as a running conversation. If the sources were thin, the story says Some details may be uncertain.

Listening

Tap Listen to start. The first time a story is played, the button shows Loading voice for a few seconds. Then it turns into Stop.
While a story plays, pause/resume and next paragraph sit beside Stop. The paragraph being read is marked in the text.
A now-playing bar above the tabs shows what’s being read, with pause and stop, wherever you are in the app.
Stories keep playing with the screen locked and work with AirPods and lock-screen controls. A phone call pauses them.
Stories only start on their own if you turn on Settings → Start speaking when a story opens.

Voices. Stories are read by Ruth, a natural voice from Amazon Polly. It needs an internet connection. Without one, the app uses your iPhone’s own voice. To always use the iPhone voice, choose Settings → Voice → iPhone voice. For a better iPhone voice, download a Premium voice in iOS Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → Voices.

Saving & sharing

Tap the bookmark on a story to save it. The Saved tab groups saved stories by place, and they stay readable and playable offline. To remove one, tap the bookmark again or press and hold it in the list. Tap share to send a story as text.

Settings

Speed & Preview voice	How fast stories are read, and a short sample.
Voice	Ruth (natural) or iPhone voice. The iPhone voice has its own options and works offline.
Start speaking when a story opens	Play each story as soon as it arrives. Off by default.
Short stories	60–100 words instead of 150–300.
Distances	Meters or feet.
Today	Stories and questions left today, and when they reset.
Clear saved stories	Removes every saved story from this phone.
Offline	Download a city pack (Munich today) so every story for that city opens instantly and reads without a connection. Also shows what’s stored on this phone, with Clear offline data.

Daily limits

Each phone can create 30 new stories and ask 60 follow-up questions a day. Stories someone else has already heard don’t count. Limits reset at midnight UTC. Settings shows the reset time in your local time. Saved stories always work.

Siri & Shortcuts

Say “Ask Nellie what’s around me”, or add the What’s around me? action in Shortcuts, to open straight to Nearby.

Troubleshooting

“Location is off”	Tap Open Settings and allow location, or use Somewhere else.
Stuck on “Looking around…”	Check your connection, then pull down to refresh.
“Nothing notable within 1.5 km”	Switch the filter to All, or use Somewhere else.
“You’ve reached today’s limit”	Wait for the reset. Saved and already-heard stories still work.
A fact looks wrong	Check Sources, then tell us the place and lens.
“Nellie’s storyteller is offline right now”	Places still show, but new stories and hooks may not load. Stories already written still open. Try again later.
No sound	Check the volume. Stories play as media audio.

Questions? See Support or read the privacy policy.