How to Share Your Family Timeline

TL;DR

• Use the "Invite" button in the Family Timeline to add relatives via email.
• Assign roles like "Viewer" or "Contributor" to manage who can add photos.
• Encourage family to add captions and voice notes to build a richer story.

Digitizing your family photos is just the first step; the real magic happens when you share those memories and build a collective story. The Family Timeline is your private, collaborative space where relatives can view, contribute, and enrich your shared history. Inviting others is simple and secure, allowing everyone to add their own scans and context from wherever they are. This guide will walk you through how to invite collaborators, manage permissions, and get the most out of your shared family archive.

1) Invite Your Family

Open the Family Timeline tab in your app and tap the "Invite" button. You can add relatives in two ways:

• By Email: Enter their email addresses, and they'll receive a secure link to join your timeline.
• Generate a Link: Create a unique invitation link that you can share via text message or other apps.

2) Set Permissions for Each Member

You have full control over what each person can do in your timeline. When you invite someone, you can assign them one of three roles:

• Viewer: Can browse all albums, view photos, and leave reactions. This is perfect for sharing with the wider family.
• Contributor: Can do everything a Viewer can, plus upload their own scans, edit captions, and tag people. This is ideal for close family members who have their own boxes of photos to add.
• Admin: Has full control to manage members, change privacy settings, and organize albums.

3) Encourage Collaboration and Storytelling

A timeline becomes truly special when it's filled with stories. Encourage your family members to:

• Add Captions and Dates: Fill in the blanks! Add names, places, and dates to each photo.
• Leave Voice Notes: Tap the microphone icon on a photo to record a short audio clip telling the story behind the picture.
• Organize into Albums: Group photos by event, year, or person to make the collection easy to navigate.

Pro Tip: Host a "virtual scanning party" over a video call. Everyone can go through their albums together, share stories, and add photos to the timeline in real-time.

4) Export and Share Your Collection

When you're ready to create a physical album or a slideshow, you can easily export your photos. Select an album or a set of photos and choose "Export." You can download high-resolution JPGs that are ready for printing or sharing.

A great shared timeline starts with great scans. Make sure everyone is following the best practices in our guide to scanning photos on an iPhone to ensure the whole collection looks fantastic.