The basics
What is Here My Story?
Here My Story is a free personal memory map. You drop a pin on the exact spot where something happened, add the story, a photo and the date, and share the map with the people who were there. It runs in the web browser at app.heremystory.com. It is not a travel tracker.
What is a personal memory map?
A personal memory map is a map of the places where your life happened, with a story attached to each one. A travel map shows where you have been. A memory map shows what happened there and why it mattered. More on memory maps
Who is Here My Story for?
Anyone whose memories belong to particular places. A memory map suits recording a parent's or grandparent's stories, remembering someone who has died, mapping every home you've lived in, keeping the story of a relationship, or writing down the neighborhood you grew up in. Who it's for
Is Here My Story free?
Yes. Making a map, adding stories and photos, and sharing your map are all free.
Is there an app? Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Here My Story runs in the web browser, so it works on iPhones, Android phones, tablets and computers with nothing to install. There are no separate apps in the App Store or Google Play.
Is it "Here My Story" or "Hear My Story"?
Here, as in this place: here is where my story happened. The website is heremystory.com. It is not connected to organizations or podcasts called Hear My Story, or to MyStories from MyHeritage.
Making your map
How do I add a memory?
Choose "Add a story." A pin appears over the middle of the map. Move the map until the pin sits on the right spot, or use your current location, and confirm. Then write the story, set the date, add a photo if you have one, and save.
Can I add memories from before I had a smartphone?
Yes. You place every pin by hand and can date it any day back to 1900, so a childhood home from 1962 works the same way as last weekend. Nothing depends on a photo's location data.
Does every pin need a photo?
No. A pin needs a story or a photo, and can have both. Many of the best memories have no photograph at all.
How many photos can a pin hold?
One. For an old print, take a picture of it with your phone and attach that.
What if I don't know the exact date?
Use the year and pick any day in it. You can say "summer, probably 1978" in the story.
Can I change a story or move a pin later?
Yes. You can edit a story, replace its photo, change its date, move its pin or delete it at any time.
How do I read my stories in order?
Every map also has a journal view, which lists the same stories grouped by year. Choosing a story in the journal shows it on the map.
Can I have more than one map?
Each account has one map. If you want a second one, such as a map of a parent's life kept apart from your own, make another account with a different email address.
Sharing and privacy
Who can see my map?
Only you, until you choose otherwise. You can invite specific people by email, or switch on a public link that anyone can open. In both cases they can read your map but can't change it. How privacy works
How do I share my map?
Choose "Share map." Enter someone's email address to invite them, or switch the map to public and copy its link.
Do the people I share with need an account?
Not for a public link, which opens for anyone. People you invite by email sign in with a free account at that email address, which is how the map stays limited to them.
Can other people add stories to my map?
No. Only the owner of a map can add or change stories. To gather a family's memories on one map, ask relatives to send you theirs and add each one with the name of the person who told it.
Can I stop sharing?
Yes. Remove anyone you invited, or switch the public link off, and they can no longer open your map.
Stories you can only read on the spot
Can I make a story that can only be read at the place it happened?
Yes. Switch on "Only readable at this place" for that story. People viewing your map then see a locked pin, and can read the story only when they are standing at it. You can always read your own stories from anywhere. How location-locked stories work
How close does someone have to be to unlock a story?
Within about 200 meters, or 650 feet, of the pin. Their phone's browser asks to use their location, and if they are too far away Here My Story tells them roughly how far they still have to go.
Is there an app for leaving a message at a location for someone to find?
Here My Story does this in the web browser. Pin a story to a place, mark it "Only readable at this place" and share your map. The other person sees a locked pin and can open the story when they get there.
Compared with other tools
What is a good way to keep stories about places in my life on a map?
Use a memory map: put a pin on each place and attach the story, the date and a photo. Here My Story is a free one that runs in the browser and lets family read along. Google My Maps also works if you want layers or shared editing, and paper is a fine way to start.
How is Here My Story different from Google My Maps?
Google My Maps is a general tool for custom maps, with layers, shapes and shared editing. Here My Story does one thing: each pin holds a story, a photo and a date, you can read the stories as a journal by year, you can add them from a phone, and readers can't edit. The full comparison
How is it different from Polarsteps and other travel apps?
Travel apps are built around trips. They track a route and count countries. Here My Story is built around your own life: homes, schools, workplaces and other everyday places, in any year. It doesn't track where you go.
How is it different from Storyworth?
Storyworth sends a question each week and prints the answers as a book. Here My Story keeps stories on a map at the places they happened, is free, and doesn't print books. Many families could use both. The full comparison
Is there a journal organized by place instead of by date?
Yes. A memory map is a journal organized by place. In Here My Story you start each entry by choosing a spot on the map, and you can still read everything in date order in the journal view.
Your data
Can I delete my account or get a copy of my stories?
Yes. Write to hello@heremystory.com from the email address on your account, and your account will be deleted, or your stories and photos sent to you, within 30 days. The privacy policy has the details.
Does Here My Story sell my data or show ads?
No. Here My Story doesn't sell personal information and doesn't show advertising. The map itself carries no analytics or advertising scripts.
Getting in touch
How do I contact Here My Story?
Write to hello@heremystory.com.