Help the people you love tell their story

The stories your family
will be glad you saved.

Some voices you never want to forget. Narrative Arc makes it simple to record them, in their own words, and turn them into something you can hold onto forever.

Download for iPhoneSee a sample memoir
An older man at home, photographed for a sample memoir.
A sample memoir, in his words.
What you keep

A memoir, in three forms to share.

A cloth-bound keepsake book with reading glasses resting on a knit throw, warm-toned.
I
A book to read or print
The whole story in writing, in their own words. Read it on any screen, send the file to anyone, or print it as a keepsake.
Weathered hands holding a fan of old printed photographs.
II
A film to watch
Their photographs and their voice, set to a narrated slideshow. Keep it forever, and host it online so the family can watch from anywhere.
Two hands joined at a wedding, sepia-toned.
III
An interactive memoir
Explore the whole story online: their voice, the photos, a map of the places, and the people who shaped them. A private link, no app to install.
Themes

A look that fits the life.

See all seven themes

Every memoir gets a design of its own, not a fill-in-the-blank template. Choose from seven distinct looks, from a quiet hardcover to a postcard from the road. New themes are added over time, free for anyone with a plan.

The Manuscript theme: a published memoir cover.
Manuscript
A quiet hardcover. Cream paper, elegant serif type, a small press imprint.
The Folio theme: a published memoir cover.
Folio
Dark and cinematic. The photography leads and the type steps back.
The Postcard theme: a published memoir cover.
Postcard
Postcards from a life. Stamps, handwriting, and snapshots.
How it works

A little at a time, at your own pace.

01
Record
Speak a story. The app prompts you when you want it to. Stays out of the way when you don’t.
02
Organize
Stories arrange into chapters and a timeline as you go. Edit any of it. Or none of it.
03
Publish
When it is ready, share it three ways: a book, a film, and an interactive web version, each in a theme that suits the story.
04
Share
A link goes to the people you choose. They tap it. They hear your voice within five seconds.
Whose story is this?

One memoir, or many voices.

A single memoir

One author, one story. It can be the story of your own life. It can be the life of someone you love, told by you, whether they are still here or not. It can even be one great story that deserves to be kept. You decide whose story it is.

A family memoir

Up to three author seats, and each one is a full author. Everyone records and writes their own stories, builds chapters, and edits the same memoir side by side. It is shared authorship, not a single guest story added at the end.

Three siblings
Write your family's story together, from childhood to the people you each became.
You and a cousin
Trace your family from the day they arrived in this country to the morning they opened their first sandwich shop.
A couple
Each tell your own childhood up to the day you met, then tell the rest as one: the family and the life you built together.

The possibilities are endless.

No app required

Invite anyone to add a story.

Not everyone will install an app, and they do not have to. Send a link to a parent, an aunt, an old friend. They open it in any browser, tell their story in their own voice or write it down, and add a photo if they have one. It arrives in your memoir, credited to them. No account, no app, no cost.

Send a link
Ask a question, or just say what you are hoping to hear.
They record in a browser
Voice or writing, from a phone or a computer. Nothing to install.
It lands in your memoir
Saved as a story, credited to who told it, ready for you to place.

Every voice you add makes the memoir more complete.

A gift for the whole family

The voice you will want to hear again and again.

We rarely think to record the people we love until the chance has passed. This is how you make sure it does not.

Give Narrative Arc to a parent or grandparent. They tell their stories on their terms, and your family keeps their voice forever.

Giving it as a gift

Buying it for someone else? You will be able to gift Narrative Arc and send a simple code they redeem in a tap, no account setup required on your end. Gifting opens soon. Join the list and we will tell you the moment it is ready.

Notify me about gifting
Explore the site

Everything in its place.

Plans
Pricing
Pay once or by the year. Free, Premium, and Family plans.
On-device
Privacy
How your voice, transcripts, and photos stay yours.
Help center
FAQ
Setup, recording, storage, people. The full answers.
Free
Download
Get Narrative Arc for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Stay close

Letters worth keeping.

Now and then we send a short note about saving family stories, and let you know when something new arrives. Once a month at most.

No spam. Unsubscribe in one tap.
Help center

Questions, answered.

See all FAQs

No. Speech recognition runs on your device only. Your recordings, transcripts, and stories never leave your phone or Mac unless you explicitly export them.

No, not to write one. If you are writing a personal memoir, you can tap Continue without an account at the start and record, write, and keep your memoir signed out. Your stories sync across your own devices using your device’s iCloud, never a Narrative Arc account.

You sign in with Apple when you publish your memoir online, so the published version is tied to you and only you can update or take it down, and when you start or join a family memoir. If you choose one of those while signed out, Narrative Arc walks you through signing in first, then picks up where you left off.

Tap + New Story in the Stories toolbar and choose Record a story. Grant mic and speech permissions if it is the first time, then speak. Words appear as you go, the waveform pulses with your voice, and a timer tracks elapsed time. Tap Stop to save. The title is drawn from your first line. You can rename it later.