My Story

Your writing auto-saves inside the browser as you type — you never need to tap a Save button for your answers. The app also creates automatic browser snapshots in the background, and automatically downloads a backup file to your Downloads folder every 10 minutes while you are writing, and when you close the app.

Your story also backs up to the cloud automatically about 15 seconds after every change (look for "✓ Last synced" under ⋯ → Backups). If this browser's data is ever wiped, sign in with your name on the login screen — or use 🔗 Link this device with a code from another device — and your story comes back.

This is the one thing you need to do yourself. It takes about 5 seconds and gives you a permanent, portable copy of everything.

These automatic snapshots (Profile → 💾 Backups → scroll down) are a safety net for accidental deletions mid-session. They are not a replacement for file exports — they disappear if you clear browser data.

Everything: all written answers, photos and media (stored as embedded data), voice notes, family tree, custom questions, profile settings, and themes. One single file contains your complete story. It works in any future version of MyStory on any device.

Just send them the link — MyStory is a web app that works in any browser. On a phone, open it in Safari (iPhone) or Chrome, then use Share → Add to Home Screen to install it like a real app.

⋯ → Share → ✉️ Invite Questions from Family copies a personal link. Anyone who opens it can write you a question — no account, no app. Their question appears the next time you sit down to write ("✉️ Anna asked you…"), and their name is kept next to your answer in the book. One link works forever.

Yes — each person creates their own account with their own PIN. Accounts are completely separate. Tap the account icon at the top of the sidebar to switch between people.

Usually the browser's data was cleared — your story is still in the cloud. On the sign-in screen, type your name (and PIN) to pull it back, or use 🔗 Link this device with a code from another device. Also check ⋯ → 💾 Backups for a recent snapshot, or restore a saved .json file (↩ Restore story on the sign-in screen).

Make sure you're typing exactly 4 digits. If you've truly forgotten it: on the login screen tap Forgot PIN? — there are recovery options, including by email if you added one when creating the account.

Try refreshing the page. If photos or media are making the app slow, go to Albums and delete large video files — they're stored in the browser and can fill up available memory quickly.

MyStory supports GEDCOM 5.5 and 5.5.1 files from Ancestry, FamilySearch, MacFamilyTree, and most genealogy software. If your file doesn't import, try exporting it again from your genealogy app as GEDCOM 5.5 format specifically.

MyStory is designed for both desktop and mobile. On a phone, the sidebar becomes a slide-out menu — tap the ☰ button at the top to open it. The layout adapts automatically.

This can happen if the same person was created more than once during testing. On the login screen, each account card has a small ✕ button on the right — tap it to hide duplicates. Their data stays safe; they're just removed from the list.

Go to Profile and make sure you've set your mode (Myself, Child, Teen, etc.) and your age group. Then tap Save Profile. The questions will update immediately.

v174: Opens straight into a question. Family "ask me" links — send an invitation, their questions greet you when you write, their name stays in the book. Cloud sync with unguessable addresses, device linking by code, and optional end-to-end encryption. Sentence-starter and either/or tap questions. "Remember this?" resurfaces an old memory each day.

v170–v173: Daily ritual — one prompt every day, tiered by depth. Flow mode. Inline editing auto-saves. Ink flourish on save. Writing background toggle. Cross-browser voice memos.

v169: New navigation icons, improved streak display, chapter grid redesign.

v162: Book compilation. API key. Date picker.

v158–v160: Once… & Notes. Multi-account. Kids mode.

v136: Media canvas, voice memos, AI images.

v109: Timeline, Search, Family tree.

A guided autobiography app — one question at a time, across 18 chapters. Built for families. Questions adapt to age: children get playful, simple prompts; adults get deeper reflective ones; teens get their own voice.

Local-first: your story lives on your device and works offline. It also backs up automatically to a small private cloud store so you can recover it and use several devices — and you can turn on end-to-end encryption so the cloud holds only scrambled data nobody else can read. The optional AI writing assistant sends only the text it needs. Your story is yours.

Pure HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — no frameworks. A web app that installs to your home screen and works offline. Sync runs on Cloudflare. The AI assistant uses the Anthropic Claude API.

Every life is worth remembering. Every single one.

This app is a spiritual testament and a memoir — a place to let the people you love know and remember you. To transfer your knowledge, your experience, your way of seeing the world. To recreate your mindprint — the way life passed through you.

We are all pieces of a puzzle. Our loved ones' legacies are a place to find guidance, advice, and hope. A place to remember lives — short or long — meaningful for what they were, what they experienced, what they felt. With words — always imperfect — we try to recreate the thoughts, the memories, the inner world of the people we love. But not just the people we love. All people. Because each one of us has a lesson to teach, a funny story to tell, and emotions that shook us until we believed what we never thought was possible.

This is a way to understand humanity — its limitations and its sameness. A way to grow together, to stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before us. Without them, we would not be here.