Updated November 9, 2026

Help

Stuck, found a bug, or have an idea? Email support@talix.app and we'll get back to you.

Signing in

Sign in with Apple, or tap Connect with Strava and approve access on Strava. Either way you get the same app. Signing in again the same way always returns you to the same Rivals account.

Signed up with Strava? Keep signing in with Strava, then add Sign in with Apple in Profile → Settings so you can use either. Don't tap Sign in with Apple on the sign-in screen first: that creates a second, empty account.

Your name

When you first sign in, Rivals asks you to confirm the name friends see. Until you do, other people see you as "Runner" and you won't show up in search.

Adding friends

• Link or code. Share your invite link or code from Friends. When someone opens it, Rivals asks before sending anything, then sends you a friend request to accept.
• Search. Search Rivals runners by name in Friends and send a request.
• In person. Open your QR code and have a friend scan it with Rivals or their phone's camera. After they confirm, you're friends straight away. Each QR code expires after 10 minutes, so it only works in person.

Starting a race

On the Race tab, tap Start a race, pick a distance or a time, and invite friends or share the link. Everyone starts on the same countdown, wherever they are. After a race, tap Rematch to race the same people again. Your head-to-head record with each friend is on their page in Friends.

Recording a run

On the Race tab, tap Start run. After a 3 second countdown Rivals records your run, with the screen locked too. Tap Pause when you stop; paused time and distance don't count toward your moving time. Tap Finish to save it, or the trash button to discard it. A run ends on its own after 6 hours. The summary shows your fastest 1 km, mile, 5K, 10K or half inside the run, and you can race any of them as a ghost in a time trial.

Distance looks wrong

Rivals measures distance from your phone's GPS. Keep Location set to While Using the App with Precise Location on (Settings → Rivals → Location), start outdoors with a clear view of the sky, and keep the app open or running in the background during the race.

Heart rate

Go to Profile → Heart rate & sensors. Rivals connects to Bluetooth heart rate straps and watches that broadcast heart rate, or reads it from Apple Health (for example from an Apple Watch).

Feed, cheers and comments

The Feed shows your friends' finished races, time trials and runs, and yours. Cheer one, or leave a comment. To keep your runs or your route maps to yourself, turn off Share runs or Show route maps in Profile → Privacy. To report a comment or a person, or to block someone, tap their comment or name. You can unblock someone later from your blocked list.

Location sharing

By default, people in your race see where you are and your route. You can turn this off for any race when you create or join it, or change the default in Profile → Settings.

Voice chat

Hold the talk button during a race to speak to everyone in it. Rivals needs microphone access for this, and audio is never recorded.

Connecting Strava

Strava is optional. Races, friends and records all work without it. To connect, go to Profile → Settings and tap Connect with Strava. Your Strava runs then show up in History, and your Strava totals in Profile, only for you.

To disconnect, go to Profile → Settings → Disconnect Strava. You need Sign in with Apple added first, so you can still sign in. You can also revoke access on Strava's website. Rivals then deletes the Strava data it saved. Your races, friends and records stay.

Syncing races to Strava

Turn on Profile → Settings → Sync races to Strava (it's off until you do), and each race, time trial and run you finish appears on Strava as a run with only your own result. If a sync fails, open its results and tap Retry.

Connecting Garmin

Garmin is optional. Connect it in Profile → Settings → Connect Garmin, agree to what's shared, then approve Rivals on Garmin's site with Activities turned on. After that, outdoor runs you record on your watch show up in Rivals once the watch syncs with Garmin Connect. You don't need your phone on the run.

Runs from Garmin count like any Rivals run: personal bests, training, awards and your friends' feed. Treadmill, indoor and manually entered activities are skipped, and so is a run you also recorded in Rivals. If your phone's copy reaches Rivals after the Garmin one, both show: delete the one you don't want. Runs from before you connected never come across.

Missing a run? Check that your watch has synced in Garmin Connect and that Rivals still has Activities turned on there. To disconnect, go to Profile → Settings → Garmin. Runs already imported stay until you delete them.

Deleting your account

Profile → Settings → Delete account deletes your Rivals profile and recorded runs and disconnects Strava and Garmin. A limited sign-in fingerprint can remain if another runner blocked you. See the Privacy Policy for details.