Why we built The Archivist
A personal story about capturing the stories that matter, before they're gone forever.
Summary
The Archivist is a private, AI-assisted recorder built so families can capture voices, photos, and memories before they disappear. We built it for our own parents and children, and made privacy, data ownership, and human storytelling the core values.
It started with a simple desire: to capture the stories my mum and dad would tell me. Those moments when they'd reminisce about their childhood, share family history, or recount adventures from their youth. I realized these stories were precious, and I didn't want them to fade away. If you're wondering how to start capturing your own parents' stories, we've created a guide on how to interview your parents about their life.
Then I thought about my own kids. When they were young, we had so many experiences together, from funny moments to milestones and everyday adventures. Now they're grown up, and they don't really remember those times. Those memories exist only in photos and in my head. I wanted a way to preserve them, to give my kids a way to connect with their own history.
I realized all these stories are connected, like the branches of a family tree. Each person's memories link to others, creating a rich tapestry of family history. But how do you capture that? How do you make those connections visible and meaningful?
Using AI in a human way
That's when I started building The Archivist. I wanted to use AI in a human way, not to replace the stories, but to help link them to the people they're about. To automatically connect memories to family members, to make it easy to find and share those precious moments. The AI doesn't tell the stories; it helps organize and preserve them so they can be kept alive.
My wife's father passed away, and just to be able to hear him talk again would be a gift to treasure. In part, building The Archivist was a way to help capture those precious stories and keep them safe, not just for now, but for future generations. So that voices, stories, and memories don't disappear when people are gone.
A safe, private space
I'm also saddened by how social media started off great but now everything seems to be judgmental and fragmented. I wanted a way to share memories and stories with my closest family, in a safe, private space. Somewhere we could be ourselves, share real moments, and build our family's story together without the noise, the judgment, or the algorithms trying to sell us something.
I have WhatsApp groups and Google Photos albums, but there was no way to bring all this together and turn all this information into true, emotional stories that can resonate and be shared and added to by the whole family. The Archivist is that place, where photos, recordings, and stories come together to create something meaningful. If you're looking for the right way to organize your family photos, check out our guide on nostalgic photo apps.
Built with your privacy in mind
I also wanted to make sure it was safe and secure, so it's built with GDPR in mind. I didn't want it to be yet another place to store images where you can't trust the service will be there next year. That's why all your information can be downloaded. And the data isn't used to sell or train AI or profile people. It's for the users of the site, for their benefit, pure and simple.
Your stories, your family, your way
The Archivist is more than an app; it's a promise. A promise that your family's stories will be preserved, protected, and passed down. That you'll always have access to your data. That your memories won't be used to sell you anything or train algorithms. They're yours, for your family, forever.
Helpful Guides to Get Started
How to Preserve Family Memories
A complete guide to capturing, organizing, and preserving your family's stories, photos, and memories for future generations.
Read guideHow to Interview Your Parents
Learn the best questions to ask, recording tips, and how to have meaningful conversations that preserve your parents' life stories.
Read guideNostalgic Photo Apps
Discover what to look for in a family photo app, compare features, and find the right solution for organizing your family's visual memories.
Read guideMemory Interview Cheat Sheet
A printable checklist and go-to questions you can open beside the recorder for any interview.
Use templateChildhood Story Prompts
Thirty conversation starters to help parents and grandparents unlock their earliest memories.
Explore promptsSee everything inside the Guides hub.
Quick answers
What is The Archivist in one sentence?
The Archivist is a private, AI-assisted recorder that captures family voices, transcribes them instantly, and links stories to the people involved.
Why was The Archivist created?
It started as a way for our founder to preserve his parents’ stories and to give his own children a way to remember everyday moments once they were grown.
How does it treat privacy?
All memories stay within your invite-only archive, every account can export its data, and nothing is used for ads, profiling, or training external AI.