What is a tap on the back?
Updated
While you follow a live rider, tap Give them a tap on the back. They feel it and see the count, with your name if you’re signed in. Sign in afterwards and your name goes on the taps you already gave. One a minute, and Congratulate for 24 hours after the finish. On a tour, taps go to the organiser.
A tap on the back is the next best thing to cheering from the roadside.
Give one
- Open the rider: from their link (windline.tech/f/…), under Live in the Android app, or on a race’s live map.
- Tap Give Thabo a tap on the back.
Their phone buzzes and sparkles, and the count goes up. You can give another every minute: “Thabo felt that · again in 58 s”. No account is needed.
You can tap a rider you follow, a rider whose link you have, or a rider who’s Findable.
They see who it was
- Signed in: they see your first name and initial: “Thandi M., Sipho K. and 12 others”.
- Not signed in: you’re counted, but not named. On the web, under the button it says Sign in so Thabo sees it was you. In the app, a card says Your tap went in as “Someone”.
Sign in, and your taps become yours
You can tap first and sign in afterwards. When you sign in, your name goes on the taps you gave from that phone or browser in the last 30 days. The rider’s count stays the same: the taps just move from “not signed in” to your name.
- On the web (windline.tech, a rider’s link or a race’s live map): after a tap, tap Sign in so Thabo sees it was you. Continue with Apple, Continue with Google, or use your email. A new account asks for your first and last name, because that’s what riders see. Any account without a full first and last name, Apple, Google or email, is asked for it once; Not now skips it on that browser until your next sign-in. Then it says Thabo sees it was you, Wes. You stay signed in on that browser. To sign out, tap your initials at the top of the page.
- In the Android app: after a tap, tap Sign in or create an account on the Your tap went in as “Someone” card. A new account asks for your first and last name. If you sign in with Google or Apple and there’s no full name on the account, What’s your name? asks for it once. Then it says Thabo sees it was you, Wes. The taps you gave from that phone come with you.
- It’s the same account everywhere: the app, windline.tech and app.windline.tech.
Taps don’t get your name if the rider has blocked you, or if they’re more than 30 days old (by then only the count is kept).
After the finish
Taps stay open for 24 hours after a rider finishes, and the button becomes Congratulate Thabo. The rider gets at most one notification every 5 minutes, such as “12 more taps on the back”. After a day, a tap says “Their finish was more than a day ago.”
When you’re riding
- While you ride: taps reach your phone quietly: one buzz, no sound. The Windline notification shows who tapped for about 10 seconds, then the count.
- Who tapped: tap Live now at the top of Events, then the taps line. Taps on the back shows the total, everyone signed in by name, with how often and when, newest first, and how many came from people who weren’t signed in.
- Afterwards: tap the race under Past at the bottom of the Events screen: Your taps on the back.
Only you see the list.
Tours: taps go to the organiser
On a tour, the dot is the organiser’s phone, so taps go to the organiser. In the app, the tour’s live map has “Give TSF 2026 a tap on the back”. The organiser sees each day’s taps: the count and every name, newest first. Read them out shows the names in big, clear type on a dark screen that stays on, to read aloud round the fire that night.
Taps on a tour day stay open until midnight, and for 24 hours after the last day.
Turn them off
In the app, open Settings and switch off Taps on the back (it’s there once you’re signed in). It’s on unless you switch it off. Off, people following you can’t give you one. It takes effect at once, even mid-ride.
To stop one person, block them: their taps don’t reach you. See reporting or blocking someone.
What’s kept
The names of the people who tapped you are kept for 30 days. After that, only the count stays. See who can see you.
A tap given without signing in is kept against a random id for your phone or browser (never your name), so your name can go on it if you sign in. It’s deleted 30 days after the last tap you gave without signing in.
Taps on the back are in the Android app now, for races and tours, and on the web for races. They come to the iPhone app in its next update. Signing in on the page itself is on the web (windline.tech); in the app you sign in as usual.