Support

Help center · Cartagena · Last updated: September 14, 2026

Welcome to the Cartagena support center. Here you'll find how-to guides, answers to the most common questions, and a direct way to reach the developer.

Direct contact

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @chrisifm

We reply within 48 business hours, Monday through Friday (Mexico City time).

How to use the App

Browse hand-picked places

Open the Explore tab. The map at the top shows everything at once; the chips above it filter it by category. Below the map, one carousel per category — places, restaurants, hostels, bars and cafés — and tapping a category header opens its full list. Tap any card to see its description, photos, rating and location.

Find somewhere to eat, drink or sleep

Use the category chips on the map, or the carousels below it, to browse restaurants, hostels, bars and cafés. Each listing shows its rating, its neighbourhood and — for places to eat and drink — its price level and opening hours, with the walking distance already calculated. Tap one to see its details, photos and review, or to open it in Maps.

You can also open the Restaurants tab to browse every restaurant in the city directly, as a list or on the map.

Save favorites
  1. Open any place or restaurant
  2. Tap the heart icon to save it
  3. Open the Favorites tab to see everything you saved

Favorites are stored locally on your iPhone — no account and no internet connection required to view them.

Build your trip plan

Open the My Plan tab to assemble your own itinerary. Add the places you want to visit, arrange them in the order that makes sense for your days in the city, and open the whole route in Maps when you're ready to walk it. Your plan lives on your device and is never uploaded anywhere.

Use the App offline

Once you have opened the App with an internet connection, every listing is cached automatically, photos included as you browse. After that the App keeps working with no signal — which matters inside the walled city, where coverage is unreliable.

Maps directions still require your chosen maps app to have offline maps downloaded for Cartagena.

Enable nearby alerts
  1. Go to the Profile tab and turn on Nearby alerts
  2. Grant "Always" location permission when prompted (required for alerts with the App closed)
  3. Grant notification permission when prompted

Once enabled, the App notifies you when you come near a hand-picked place, even if the App is closed. Each place alerts you at most twice, with at least 24 hours between alerts, and alerts are silenced during quiet hours (10 p.m. to 7 a.m.).

To turn it off: Profile → Nearby alerts → toggle off. Or open iOS Settings → Cartagena → Location and choose "While Using the App" or "Never."

Get directions to a place or restaurant

Open any place or restaurant and tap Open in Apple Maps or Open in Google Maps. The App hands the coordinates to your chosen maps app and opens it with the destination already filled in.

Change the language

Go to Profile → Language and choose English, Español, or Português (Brasil). The change applies immediately across the whole App. On first launch, the App follows your iPhone's system language automatically.

Frequently asked questions

Does the App work offline?

Yes. After the first sync, places and restaurants are stored on your device. You can browse, search, open your favorites and your plan, and read descriptions with no connection. Photos you have already viewed stay cached too. Turn-by-turn directions require your maps app to have offline maps for Cartagena.

Do I need to create an account?

No. Cartagena works completely without registration. No email, no password, no sign-in. Open the App and start exploring.

Does the App send my location to any server?

Never. Your location is used only on your device — to show nearby places, to calculate walking and driving times, and to trigger local alerts. It is never transmitted to our server, to analytics providers, or to any third party. In fact, no request the App makes contains coordinates at all. See our Privacy Policy for the full detail.

Do you store my data on any server?

No. Your favorites, trip plan, alert history, and language preference are stored exclusively on your iPhone. The App only downloads the catalog of places and restaurants from our server; it never uploads anything. There is no account, no user profile, and no database of users. See our Privacy Policy.

How do I turn off nearby alerts?

Go to the Profile tab and toggle Nearby alerts off. Alternatively, open iOS Settings → Cartagena → Location and set the permission to "While Using the App" or "Never." The App stops registering geofences immediately.

Will nearby alerts drain my battery?

No. The App does not poll your location in the background. It registers geofences with iOS and the operating system wakes the App only when you actually cross one — the same low-power mechanism Apple uses for its own location reminders.

Is there anything to pay for?

No. Cartagena is free — no In-App Purchases, no subscription, no ads, no paywall, forever.

The information for a place or restaurant seems outdated. What should I do?

Places change — restaurants close, hours shift, streets get blocked. If you spot something wrong, email [email protected] with the name of the place and what looks incorrect. We verify and update it. For anything safety-critical, always check official local sources first.

Can I suggest a new place or restaurant?

Yes — every suggestion gets reviewed. Email [email protected] with the name, where it is, and why it deserves to be in the App. Local favorites especially welcome.

Which iPhones are supported?

Any iPhone running iOS 17 or later. The App is iPhone-only; iPad is not supported at this time.

How do I report a bug?

Email [email protected] and include:

How do I delete my data?

Uninstall the App. Because everything lives on your device and nothing is stored on our servers, deleting the App permanently removes every piece of data it held — favorites, trip plan, cached content and alert history. There is no account to close and nothing for us to delete on your behalf.

Contact

Instagram @chrisifm
Developer Chris Flores
Ingeniería.dev
Postal address Av. Javier Barros Sierra 495, Santa Fe Lomas de Santa Fe Zedec Santa Fé, Álvaro Obregón 01219, Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico

Estimated response time: 48 business hours (Monday through Friday, Mexico City time).