How to Write Text Memories

Audience: Contributors — people who prefer to type their memories rather than record audio or video.

If you'd rather type than speak, the "Write Your Memories" mode lets you select photos and type what you remember about them. It's ideal for anyone who prefers to compose their thoughts in writing, or who is in a quiet environment where speaking isn't convenient.

Before You Start

  • All you need is a keyboard (or touchscreen keyboard on a phone/tablet).
  • No microphone or camera permission is needed.

Step 1 — Choose "Write Your Memories"

From the welcome screen, tap or click "Write your memories".

📸 [SCREENSHOT: Welcome screen with "Write your memories" button highlighted]

Step 2 — The Photo Grid

You'll land on a grid view of all the photos in the collection. Each photo is displayed as a thumbnail.

📸 [SCREENSHOT: The text entry grid — all item thumbnails displayed in a grid layout]

At the top of the page, you'll see a progress indicator like:

"4 of 34 photos have memories"

This keeps track of how many photos you've already commented on.

Step 3 — Select a Photo (or Multiple Photos)

To respond to a single photo: Click or tap on it. It will gain a highlighted border to show it's selected.

To respond to multiple photos at once: Click on the first photo, then hold Shift and click additional photos. This is useful when several photos are from the same event or show the same people.

📸 [SCREENSHOT: Grid view with one or two photos selected — showing highlighted border]

Step 4 — Type Your Memory

After selecting a photo (or photos), a text input area will appear.

Type whatever you remember. There's no minimum or maximum length. Here are some things that are especially helpful:

  • Names of the people you recognize (even partial names or nicknames)
  • When it was taken (year, season, decade — anything helps)
  • Where it was taken (city, country, specific place)
  • What was happening — the occasion, event, or everyday moment
  • Stories or context — anything you know about the people or situation

Example response: "This is Mom and Dad at their 25th anniversary party. I think this was 1982 or '83. It was held at the Italian place on Fifth Street — I can't remember the name. Uncle Frank is the one in the back with the mustache."

📸 [SCREENSHOT: Text input area open with an example typed response]

Step 5 — Save Your Memory

When you're done typing, click or tap "Save memory".

Your response will be saved and the photo(s) will be marked with a checkmark to show they have a memory attached.

📸 [SCREENSHOT: Grid after saving — photo showing a checkmark overlay or "memory saved" badge]

You can then select another photo and repeat the process.

Step 6 — Responding to More Photos

Keep selecting photos and typing memories until you've covered everything you know. You don't need to respond to every single photo — skip anything you don't recognize.

When you're finished (or want to stop for now), you can simply close the page. Your work is saved automatically as you go.

Editing or Adding to a Response

If you want to come back to a photo you already commented on and add more:

  • Click the photo again to see your existing response.
  • You can type an additional note.

Common Questions

Do I have to comment on every photo? No. Skip anything you don't recognize or don't have anything to say about. Quality matters more than quantity.

How much should I write? Write as much or as little as you'd like. Even a single name or a single word like "Maine" is helpful. There's no wrong answer.

Can I go back and change something I typed? You can add more to a photo's memory by tapping it again. Contact the person who invited you if you'd like to make edits to or remove a previously saved response.

Can I switch to voice narration instead? Yes — go back to the welcome screen (tap the back button or re-open your invite link) and choose "Voice Narration" instead.

My keyboard keeps autocorrecting names. What should I do? You can turn off autocorrect temporarily in your phone settings, or simply re-type the correct spelling after autocorrect changes it.

Next Steps

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