How to Use RunPee
RunPee tells you the best times to run to the bathroom during a movie, what you missed while you were gone, and whether there's anything worth staying for after the credits. This page walks through the app from the Movie List to the last credit.
There's really only one thing you need to remember: when to start the timer. Everything else you'll get at a glance.
Download RunPee
RunPee is free on Google Play and the App Store.
1. Find Your Movie
The app opens on the Movie List: the movies in theaters now. We add about two new movies a week, and the app has Peetimes for more than 2,300 movies. Search has Genre and My Library tabs if you're looking for something older.
Tap a movie to open Movie Info. Before you ever get to the Peetimes, this screen answers a few useful questions:
- Anything Extra. Is there anything during or after the credits? You'll know before you sit down whether to stay in your seat.
- Cast. Who's in it.
- Peeple's Poll. What other RunPee users expected from the movie, and what they thought after. More below.
- Our review. We're not professional critics, but we see a lot of movies. Our reviews help you decide whether to go, without spoilers. If a review has to get into the plot, we warn you first.
- IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. Both open right inside the app.
Then tap through to the Peetimes.
2. Skim the Peetimes Before the Movie Starts
The Peetimes screen tells you who found this movie's Peetimes, with that Peep's note on the movie. Then come the Peetimes themselves. Each one has:
- Start time, accurate to within about 5 seconds.
- Cue, a line or an image that tells you the Peetime has begun. Cues don't spoil anything.
- Length, usually 2½ to 5 minutes.
- Synopsis. Tap the Peetime to read what happens while you're out.
Here's what that looks like in practice: a Peetime starts 23 minutes and 5 seconds in, when Bond says "You'll never see me again" and the train door closes. You have 3 minutes and 55 seconds. Read the Synopsis on the way back and you're caught up.
Watch for the markers: Recommended (thumbs-up, long and safe), Emergency (only if you really can't wait) and Alert (nothing to do with the bathroom; it flags scenes of animal cruelty, torture or sexual violence so you can avoid them). What is a Peetime? explains all of them.
Spend thirty seconds skimming so you know roughly when the first one lands. You won't want to be scrolling in the dark.
3. Start the Timer When the Movie Starts
This is the one step that matters. Every time we give is counted from the start of the movie, so if your zero point is off, every alert is off too.
Tap to start the timer when the movie's start cue appears.
Each movie tells you its own start cue on the timer start screen. Usually it's after the first production credit ends, for example right after the Disney logo fades out. Follow what the app says for your movie.
Don't go by the showtime on your ticket. Ads and trailers run different lengths at different theaters and different showings. Your ticket tells you when the room starts showing something, not when the movie starts.
On Android you can also use Phone Flip: flip your phone face-down to start the timer. No fumbling with a bright screen once the lights go down.
Forgot to start it? Don't panic. Every Peetime has a Cue, and going by the Cue works just as well. The timer just saves you from keeping half an eye on it.
4. Let the Timer Do the Work
Once it's running, the timer sits quietly in your pocket.
- About 30 seconds before each Peetime, your phone lets you know. That's your heads-up to watch for the Cue.
- It works in Airplane Mode. The alerts are scheduled on your phone, not sent over the network, so you can turn everything else off and enjoy the movie.
- Choose which Peetimes notify you. If you only want the Recommended one, you don't have to be buzzed for the rest.
- Glance at it anytime to see how long until the next Peetime and which Cue to watch for.
- Stop, Pause or Adjust the running timer if the movie gets interrupted or you started a little early or late.
One thing to know: force-closing the app stops the countdown on screen, but your alerts still arrive.
Timer Support
Worried the alerts won't come through? The timer start screen has a Notification Health card. Open Timer Support from there to:
- Send a test notification
- Test the vibration
- Troubleshoot notification problems
- Read notes on smartwatches
- Contact Support
If your notifications are turned off, the app warns you before you start, with Fix Now or Start Anyway. For more, see Troubleshooting.
5. When It's Time to Go
When the alert comes, don't bolt yet. Wait for the Cue, then get up. Those 30 seconds are for getting from your seat to the aisle.
Out, done, back. Peetimes are sized for a round trip if you keep moving. Read the Synopsis on the way back and you'll sit down knowing exactly where the story is.
6. Running Late? First Three Minutes
Traffic, parking, the popcorn line. Sometimes you walk in after the movie has started.
The Peetimes screen has First Three Minutes, a synopsis of the opening for latecomers. The first few minutes of a movie are usually packed with setup (who, where, what they want), so it's worth the quick read.
7. The Credits: Stay or Go?
The Anything Extra card tells you whether there's anything during or after the credits, when, how many, and how long the credits run. The main view doesn't spoil what it is. If you want to know, there's a clearly marked SPOILERS section. What is Anything Extra? has the details.
If there's nothing extra, you can beat the crowd to the parking lot.
8. Grade the Movie in Peeple's Poll
Peeple's Poll asks for two grades. Give an Expectation grade before the movie, from the Peetimes screen or the screen before the timer starts. Then give a Final grade after. The timer offers it near the end, or you can do it later from the Peetimes screen or Movie Info.
No sign-in needed. Before your Final grade we ask your birth year and gender, so you can see how all users graded the movie and how people your age and gender did, and whether people liked it better or worse than they expected. More about Peeple's Poll.
It's Free
RunPee is free. No ads, no paywall. We're 100% supported by the people who use it.
If RunPee saves your movie night, you can leave a tip from the app ("Leave a tip" in the menu). Tips go to the Peep who wrote that movie's Peetimes. You can also sponsor a movie to help fund its Peetimes. See Donate.
Need Help?
Use Contact Support in the app (menu, then App Settings). It sends us your app version and the movie you're on, which helps a lot. Or email [email protected]. Common questions are in the FAQ.
Read Next
- What Is a Peetime?: Recommended, Emergency, Alert, and what makes a good one
- What Is Anything Extra?: what counts as an extra, and why
- Download RunPee