Contributor Reference Guide
Audience: Contributors — people invited to share memories about a family photo or document collection.
This guide covers everything you need to know about using Zeuge as a contributor — from opening your invite link to submitting your final memories.
Table of Contents
- What Is Zeuge?
- Getting Started
- The Welcome Screen
- Recording Voice Memories
- Recording Video Memories
- Writing Text Memories
- Navigating the Photo Carousel
- Covering Multiple Photos in One Response
- Finishing and Submitting
- Coming Back Later
- Privacy & Your Data
- Troubleshooting
What Is Zeuge?
Zeuge is a private web application designed to preserve the human stories behind family photos and documents. Someone in your family (the archivist) has digitized a collection of old photos, and they've invited you because you have irreplaceable knowledge — names, dates, places, and stories — that no one else can provide.
Your contribution doesn't have to be perfect or complete. Even a single name or approximate date you share could make a photo meaningful for generations to come.
Getting Started
What You'll Need
- Your invite link — a web address that looks like
https://zeuge.io/c/abc123xyz - A phone, tablet, or computer with a modern web browser
- An internet connection
What You Do NOT Need
- An account or password
- Any app download
- Any technical knowledge
Supported Browsers
- Safari (iPhone, iPad, Mac) ✅
- Chrome (Android, Windows, Mac) ✅
- Firefox (Windows, Mac) ✅
- Edge (Windows) ✅
The Welcome Screen
When you open your invite link, you'll land on the welcome screen.
📸 [SCREENSHOT: Full welcome screen — greeting, batch title, organizer prompt card, photo strip, and two CTA buttons]
What you'll see:
- Your name — "Hello, Carol!" — the organizer named you when they set up your invite.
- Collection title — the name of this group of photos (e.g., "Johnson Family Photos 1960–1990").
- A note from the organizer — optional guidance they left for you, like "Please share any names, dates, or stories you remember about the people in these photos."
- A strip of photo thumbnails — a preview of the first few photos in the collection so you know what you're looking at.
- Two buttons — to choose how you'd like to share your memories.
Recording Voice Memories
Voice Narration is the recommended way to contribute. You speak naturally about each photo, one at a time, and Zeuge transcribes your words automatically.
How It Works
- Tap "Voice Narration" on the welcome screen.
- Allow microphone access when your browser asks.
- Choose "Voice Narration" (not "Video Narration") on the mode selection screen.
- The photo carousel opens — one large photo is shown at a time.
- Press the blue record button (●) to start recording. Speak what you remember.
- Press the button again to stop. Your recording is saved.
- The carousel moves to the next photo automatically.
- When finished, tap "Done".
Tips for Good Recordings
- Speak at a normal pace — no need to rush.
- You don't need full sentences. "That's Grandma Helen, I think in the '60s, somewhere in Ohio" is perfect.
- Mention names, dates (even approximate), places, and any stories you know.
- If you don't know anything about a photo, just skip it.
- You can go back and re-record any photo.
📸 [SCREENSHOT: The photo carousel — large photo displayed with the blue record button at the bottom]
📸 [SCREEN RECORDING: Pressing record, speaking, and stopping — showing the waveform animation during recording]
Recording Video Memories
Video Narration lets you record yourself on camera as you talk about the photos. Some families find this especially meaningful — it captures not just your words but your face and voice for future generations.
How It Works
- Tap "Voice Narration" on the welcome screen.
- Allow microphone access when asked.
- Choose "Video Narration" on the mode selection screen.
- Allow camera access when your browser asks.
- You'll see a camera preview on screen alongside each photo.
- Record and navigate the carousel just like voice narration.
Tips for Video
- Face a light source (a window, a lamp) so your face is clearly visible.
- Avoid sitting with a bright window behind you — this darkens your face.
- A smartphone propped up works great; you don't need a professional setup.
- 30–90 seconds per photo is typically plenty.
📸 [SCREENSHOT: The video narration carousel — camera preview visible alongside the photo]
Writing Text Memories
If you'd rather type than speak, choose "Write your memories" on the welcome screen.
How It Works
- Tap "Write your memories".
- A grid of all the photos appears.
- Tap a photo to select it. A text input appears.
- Type what you remember.
- Tap "Save memory".
- Repeat for other photos.
📸 [SCREENSHOT: Text entry view — grid of photos with a selected photo and text input area visible]
What to Write
- Names of people in the photo
- When or where it was taken (approximate is fine)
- What the occasion was
- Any stories or memories attached to it
Navigating the Photo Carousel
The carousel (used in voice and video narration modes) shows photos one at a time.
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Right arrow → | Go to the next photo |
| Left arrow ← | Go to the previous photo |
| Keyboard right/left | Same as arrows (if using a keyboard) |
| Record button | Start / stop recording |
| Skip | Move past a photo without recording |
Visual indicators on photos:
- Green highlight / checkmark — you've already recorded a memory for this photo
- No highlight — not yet responded to
You can navigate back and forth freely. You don't have to go in order.
📸 [SCREENSHOT: Carousel with navigation arrows, item counter ("7 of 34"), and a photo showing a green completion indicator]
Covering Multiple Photos in One Response
Sometimes a group of photos all relate to the same event or memory. You can record one response that covers all of them at once:
- Hold Shift and click/tap the additional photos you want to include. (On a phone, this may be a long-press or a "select" option.)
- You'll see a badge indicating how many photos are selected.
- Record your memory as usual — it will be linked to all selected photos.
Example: You have 5 photos from your grandmother's 70th birthday party. Select all 5, then record: "These are all from Grandma Helene's 70th birthday, which was held at Uncle Frank's house in 1983."
📸 [SCREENSHOT: Multiple items selected in carousel with "Recording for 3 items" indicator]
Finishing and Submitting
When you've covered everything you want to share:
- Tap "Done" in the carousel, or simply close the text entry view.
- A brief "Finalizing…" screen will appear while your responses are saved and processed.
- You'll see a "Thank you!" screen confirming how many memories you contributed.
📸 [SCREENSHOT: "Finalizing..." screen with spinner]
📸 [SCREENSHOT: "Thank you!" screen with memory count]
Your responses are now in the archive. The organizer will be able to see everything you shared.
Coming Back Later
You can return to the same invite link at any time to add more memories — as long as the organizer hasn't closed the collection.
- Same device: Open the same link. Your session is remembered.
- Different device: Open the same link. Previous memories won't show as "checked off" in the carousel, but they are still safely saved.
See the full Resuming Your Session article for more detail.
Privacy & Your Data
- Your responses are private. Only the person who invited you can see your responses.
- Your data is not sold or shared. Zeuge is a private family archive platform.
- You are not creating a public account. No profile, no social features, no public presence.
- Your link is unique to you. Do not share your invite link with others — each contributor should have their own.
- Audio and video are stored securely. Recordings are stored in an encrypted cloud storage bucket accessible only to the archivist.
Troubleshooting
"My microphone isn't working"
- Make sure you clicked "Allow" (not "Block") when the browser asked for microphone permission.
- On iPhone/iPad: go to Settings → Safari → Microphone → Allow (or check per-site settings).
- On Android: tap the padlock 🔒 in Chrome's address bar → Microphone → Allow.
- Try a different browser if the problem persists.
"The page won't load"
- Check your internet connection.
- Try refreshing (pull down on mobile, or press F5 on desktop).
- Try opening the link in a different browser.
- Make sure you copied the entire link — it can be long.
"I can't hear my recording"
Playback of your own recordings is not currently available in the contributor view. The archivist can listen to all recordings on their end.
"My invite link says it's expired"
Contact the person who sent you the link. They can extend the expiration or send you a new link.
"The page says the collection is closed"
The organizer has paused contributions to this batch. Contact them if you believe this is an error or if you'd like to add more memories.
"I accidentally submitted something wrong"
Contact the person who invited you. As the archivist, they can delete or reprocess individual responses.