A soft chime, then the story
Voice stories for your road trips
Every road has a story. Hear it as you travel.
A warm voice tells you true stories about the places you pass: a Chola king's gifts carved in stone, a fort, a river, a temple tank. Your phone stays in your pocket. Google Maps keeps the way.
Englishहिन्दीதமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡతెలుగుമലയാളം
Available for Android in early access. iOS coming soon.
- ✓ True stories from trusted sources, named in every story.
- ✓ Private: your location never leaves your phone.
Hear it
Hear how it sounds
This is a short sample of how we make every story. Every story is carefully scripted, narrated and produced, and every fact comes from real sources. Nothing is made up.
Privacy first
Your location never leaves your phone.
We built Road Stories so that we never need to know where you are. Not your place, not your route, and not who you are.
Your phone decides
Which story to tell, and when, is worked out on your phone. Your position is never sent to us or anyone.
Nobody can see your route
The app asks for stories by large map squares, a block of nine at a time. Our server never learns your exact place or your route.
No account, no tracking
No login, no ad ID, no analytics. We keep no server logs of who downloads what.
Payments stay with Google
Google Play handles payment. We only see that a pack was bought, never your card or UPI details.
How it works
Start your trip. That is all.
No screen to read and nothing to tap while you travel.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
Open the app, then your map
Pick your language. Keep Google Maps or any map app open. Road Stories runs quietly beside it.
ON THE ROAD
A chime, then a story
As a place comes near, you hear its story. Your music gets softer while it speaks, and the map's turn voice always comes first.
NO SIGNAL
Stories keep playing
A route you buy is saved on your phone before you leave, so ghats and forests with no signal do not stop the stories.
Where it works
Routes you can take today
Each route has hand-picked stories from start to end. We add more routes every week.
Bengaluru cityLakes, forts, old markets, Tipu's summer palace
ReadyBengaluru to Mysuru and SrirangapatnaSilk towns, river islands, the Wodeyars and Tipu Sultan
ReadyBengaluru to Madikeri (Kodagu)257 km on NH 275, to the source of the Kaveri
ReadyBengaluru to Belur, Halebidu and ShravanabelagolaHoysala temples and the hill of inscriptions
ReadyChennai cityFort St George, Mylapore, the old port
ReadyChennai to Puducherry by the East Coast RoadMamallapuram, Dutch forts, a Roman-era port
Coming soonChennai to KanchipuramPallava temples and the silk city
ReadyThanjavur, Kumbakonam and MaduraiThe Chola and Pandya heartland
ReadyStories are ready in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. More places come every week.
Plans
Pay for the trips you take
No monthly fee. You buy credits, then spend them on a route or on single stories.
Trip
8 credits, example
One route, there and back within 7 days.
- Bengaluru to Madikeri is 8 credits
- Shorter routes cost less
- Saved on your phone, works with no signal
- Used once. To travel it again, buy it again
Best for roads you love
Own
20 credits, example
The same route, as many trips as you like, for good.
- New stories on the route, free
- Took a Trip already? Upgrade while your Trip is on and pay only the difference
- Download again any time, at no cost
Free ride
0.2 credit a story
No route needed. Just travel anywhere we have stories.
- You pay only for stories you hear
- Skip in the first seconds and it is free
- "Entering a town" notes and quizzes are free
- Nothing is kept after the ride
Take one Trip free, every month. Pick any route that costs up to 10 credits, and enjoy it on us. Use it within the month, because it does not carry over.
| Pack | Credits | Price | Per credit | Use within |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 10 | ₹99 | ₹9.90 | 12 months |
| Quarter | 40 | ₹349 | ₹8.73 | 12 months |
| Half-year | 80 | ₹599 | ₹7.49 | 12 months |
| Year | 160 | ₹1,099 | ₹6.87 | 12 months |
| Road Year | 300 | ₹1,799 | ₹6.00 | 12 months |
Unused credits move to your new pack if you buy again before they expire. Prices may change before launch.
How to buy
Get started in four steps
The app never asks you to pay while you are travelling.
Install the app
From Google Play, for Android phones. iOS is coming soon. Early access first: join the list below.
Buy a credit pack
Inside the app, through Google Play. Pay with UPI, a card or your Play balance.
Choose a route
Choose Trip or Own for a route, and it downloads at home on Wi-Fi. Or skip this and use Free ride.
Start your trip
Start the app and put your phone in your pocket. If you have no route, credits are used on their own, story by story.
Questions
Which languages can I hear?
English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam at launch. Each story is written for the ear in that language from sources in that language, never translated line by line, and checked on its own.
Where do the stories come from?
Inscription volumes, district gazetteers, the Archaeological Survey of India and trusted newspapers. Every story uses at least two trusted sources, and we name them in the story. A legend is always told as a legend.
How do you check the stories?
Every story needs at least two trusted sources that do not copy each other. A separate reviewer checks each fact against those sources. If we cannot find two sources, we do not use the story. A legend is always told as a legend, and we name our sources in the story. Each language is checked on its own too.
Does it work with Google Maps?
Yes. It runs beside any map app. Turn-by-turn directions always come first, and the story waits.
How much mobile data does it use?
Very little. A bought route downloads once on Wi-Fi. Free ride fetches only the next few stories, not whole regions.
Can I use it on a bike?
Yes, with earphones or a helmet headset. Stories play on their own, so you never need to look at the phone.
Get early access
Join the list, and we will invite you when the test opens.