Once a week on WhatsApp, someone you love gets one gentle question about their life. They answer however suits — a voice note, a message, a photo, or a video, whenever they like. Their answers come straight to you, to keep forever.
Most of us mean to gather these stories, and life gets in the way — until, one day, it's too late to ask. That's exactly why this is one small question a week, not a project you have to find a weekend for.
Nothing. Not the messages, not the voice notes, not the photos or videos — their words pass through us to you and are gone from our side the moment they arrive. There's no database of what they've shared, waiting somewhere. We're the gentle nudge, you're the keeper of the memories. See exactly how that works →
One question a week, moving gently through a life — chapters gathered in order, each explored fully before the next begins.
No app to download, no password, no learning curve. Just a warm question arriving on WhatsApp, and their reply — however they're already comfortable answering.
Over the months, one chapter at a time, a whole life is gathered — from childhood to the wisdom of now.
A few things worth knowing before you begin.
No. We never store, read, or transcribe what's shared — messages pass straight through to you and are then gone from our side entirely. We only keep the practical bits needed to run the weekly question: names, phone numbers, and where you've gotten to in the sequence. Nothing about what they've actually said, ever. The full explanation is here →
There's no wrong way to reply — just answer normally, or use any of these anytime:
However suits them best — a voice note, a written message, a photo, or a video. Nothing needs to be perfect or complete in one go, either; they can add to an answer through the week, a little at a time, and it all arrives with you.
Some families like that — sitting down together, say on a Sunday visit, and working through a few memories in one sitting rather than waiting a week between each. Replying "next" brings the following question up immediately:
Sunday afternoon, Kate visiting Peggy
🌅 Who raised you, and what do you remember most about them?
Peggy answers by voice note, right there on the sofa.
When they're ready for the next one, Peggy just replies next —
💚 Who was the first person you ever really loved?
They carry on for as long as they like. Whatever they don't get to that afternoon simply continues a week later, exactly where they left off — nothing is lost, nothing repeats.
Any time — you don't need to wait until it feels "finished." WhatsApp's own Export Chat saves everything shared so far, and our free browser tool turns that export into a single, nicely formatted keepsake file — photos and all — that you can keep, share, or lock with a password. Nothing is uploaded anywhere; it all happens right there in your browser.
No — just WhatsApp, which they're almost certainly using already. No app, no login, no password. And if they ever forget what a command does, replying help brings up a reminder of everything they can say.
Yes — sign each of them up separately, one story per person. Everything about the weekly question and their replies works independently and fully for each.
One small note for now: if you're the contact for both, a quick thank-you reply from you only works while you're the contact for just one of them at a time — we're working on making that smarter for families using this with more than one parent.
In My Time · a life, gathered gently. One question a week, at their own pace, for as long as it takes to tell.
← All options · Prefer live, in-person interviews instead? Try StoryCatcher →
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