How Aatlas works

An Aatlas is built from the photos, stories and memories of friends, family and the person themself.

Start an Aatlas — $99, once

[short clip: choosing whose life the Aatlas celebrates]

1. Start an Aatlas

Choose whose life it celebrates: someone still here, someone who’s gone, or yourself. One Aatlas is $99, paid once.

[short clip: adding invitations by email]

2. Invite everyone who knows them

Send invitations by email, from you by name. They add what they remember, free and with no account.

[short clip: adding photos and speaking a memory on a phone]

3. Add what you have

Photos, videos, stories and voice recordings, one at a time or a whole batch at once. Speak a memory, and we write it down.

[short clip: a new memory landing on the Timeline]

4. Aatlas puts it in place

Stories you write or speak get a suggested title, and a photo’s date and place can be suggested from the photo itself. Memories with a date land on the Timeline, and memories with a place are pinned on the Places Map.

[short clip: the 1-Click Slideshow playing on a TV]

5. Enjoy it

Wander the Timeline and the Places Map, read every memory, or press play on the slideshow. It’s ready from the first memory and keeps growing.

One life, told by the people who knew it

Invite everyone who knows them, free. Each person brings photos and stories the others have never seen.

Each person adds a little. Together, it becomes more than any one of them could tell.

An illustrated example, based on Sylvia Berry's Aatlas.

An answer in Sylvia Berry's Aatlas to a question about her personality

A question about who they were

“Would you describe Sylvia Berry as an introvert or an extrovert?” Elizabeth answered: “She didn't like crowds, but in her own world, she was an extrovert.”

[screenshot: the suggested-questions list, grouped by part of a life]

Questions that fit

A grandchild, an old colleague and a sister each remember different things, and each can answer in their own words.

[short clip: speaking an answer and watching it appear as text]

Talk instead of type

Speak a memory out loud and Aatlas writes it down for you, so it’s easy to keep a story in the words it was told.

Logan Ray invited you to help gather Milton Arbuckle’s story.

There are parts of Milton Arbuckle’s story that only you can tell — and Logan Ray knows it. That’s why you’re invited.

Who sent this?

The invitation comes from the person who invited you, by name, with a photo of the person it celebrates when the Aatlas has one.

Do I pay, or need an account?

No. It’s free, and there’s no account to create. Tap the link in your invitation to begin.

What can I add?

Photos, a voice recording or a few words. To add video, create a free account.

I’m not a writer. What do I say?

Suggested questions help you start, and you can record your voice instead of typing.

Who will see what I add?

Only the people invited to that Aatlas, unless it has been made public.

Can I change it later?

Not from the invitation link. You can remove a photo before you save. After that, the Aatlas owner can remove a memory, and if you create a free account you can edit or delete what you added.

[short clip: dropping a batch of photos into the Gallery]

A whole box at once

Have a folder of scans or a phone full of photos? Upload a whole batch of photos and videos to the Gallery in one go. Letters and documents can be added as photos.

A memory in Sylvia Berry's Aatlas: Sylvia, Marian and Martha Jane Berry at Congress Texaco, added by Anne

Every face gets a name

Tag the people in each memory, so nobody becomes an unnamed face in a photograph thirty years from now.

[photo: a memory with a voice recording attached]

Every kind of memory

Stories, photos, videos, audio files and voice recordings, all kept together in one private place.

Sylvia Berry's timeline in Aatlas, with family photos from the 1950s

The Timeline

Every memory with a date lands in its year, chapter by chapter through their life. Memories dated after they died, like the service or a later anniversary, get their own chapter, called Legacy.

The Places Map

Every memory with a place is pinned, so you can wander a life one town at a time.

[video: the 1-Click Slideshow playing full screen]

The 1‑Click Slideshow

Press play and their photos, captions and video clips go by in order, chapter by chapter. Show it full screen on any phone or computer, or on a TV by casting.

A memory in Sylvia Berry's Aatlas: a visit to Powell Gardens, June 2001

Memories

Every story, photo, video and voice recording in one place. Stories get a suggested title.

How much work is this?

As much or as little as you like. Start with what you have, invite others to add theirs, and come back whenever a memory comes to mind. There’s no deadline.

Where do I start?

With one memory. A photo, a story or an answer to one suggested question is enough to begin.

Can it be ready for a service or a birthday?

It’s ready to enjoy from the first memory. The 1‑Click Slideshow plays full screen on any phone or computer, or on a TV by casting, and plays on a loop, so you can leave it running at a gathering. It needs an internet connection.

Can I talk instead of type?

Yes. Speak a memory and Aatlas writes it down for you.

Who can see it?

Only the people you invite. Nothing is public, or shown to search engines, unless you ask us to make it public.

What does it cost?

$99, once. No subscription, and everyone you invite adds for free.

See full pricing ›