Short answer: use the voice recorder app on your phone, sit close in a quiet room, and ask one open question at a time, ideally with an old photo in hand. Keep sessions short. Then save each recording with a clear name, make a second copy, and keep it next to the photo and the story it belongs to.
Last updated: 2 November 2026. The facts about Storyworth and Remento were checked on their own websites and help pages on that date; the sources are at the bottom.
Before you start: the phone you already have
You do not need a microphone or a studio. A recent phone records a voice clearly if a few simple things are right.
- A quiet room. Switch off the television and the radio, close the window, and sit away from the fridge or a ticking clock. Soft furnishings help; an empty kitchen echoes.
- Close, not in your hand. Put the phone on the table between you, near the person speaking. Holding it makes handling noise, and a phone far away mostly records the room.
- No interruptions. Switch on flight mode or do not disturb, so a call or a notification does not stop the recording.
- Test first. Record a few seconds, listen back, and adjust before the real conversation.
- Ask first. Tell your grandparent what you are recording and who will hear it. Most people relax once they know it stays in the family.
Questions that open stories
The best recordings come from questions that ask for a story rather than a fact. "Where were you born?" gets a place name. "What did your street look like when you were small?" gets a story.
- Start with a photo. Put an old picture in their hands: who is this, where was it taken, what happened that day. A photo gives the memory something to hold on to, and it tells you later which recording belongs to which picture.
- Follow, do not steer. The most useful question is often "and then what happened?".
- Let silence work. A pause is often the moment before the best part.
- Do not correct. A wrong year does not matter. You can check dates later; the way they tell it is what you are keeping.
If you would like a list to start from, there are twenty questions to ask your parents to print, and a free family interview where you answer one question and two gentle follow-ups appear, without an account.
Short sessions, more than once
Stop while it is still pleasant, and come back another day. Several short conversations, each around one photo or one period, usually give more than one long afternoon. They are also easier to name, file and listen to later.
Keeping the files
- Name each file. Date, person and subject, for example 2026-11-02 grandma Anna wedding photo. "New recording 14" means nothing in ten years.
- Make a second copy. Keep two copies in two different places, for example your computer and a cloud service. A recording that lives only on one phone is easily lost with that phone.
- Write one line. What is said, and who is mentioned. That makes the recording findable without listening to all of it.
- Keep the voice next to the photo. A recording on its own is hard to understand later; next to the picture it is about, and the story written out, it makes sense to anyone in the family.
When relatives live far away
Distance does not have to stop anything. A cousin can record a video call with your grandparent (ask before recording). A grandparent can answer questions by phone with a service such as Storyworth or Remento. And relatives can add their own photos and memories of the same person to a shared place, so the stories from different sides of the family end up together.
The ways compared
| Way | How it works | Good for | Not the best choice when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice recorder app on your phone | You record together in the same room; the file stays on your phone | The clearest sound, nothing to sign up for | You live far apart, or recordings tend to stay forgotten on one phone |
| Storyworth, record by phone | Storyworth calls the storyteller's phone, records the answer and transcribes it into the story; you can listen on the website and download the recording | A weekly question and a printed book after a year | You mainly want the voice next to old photos rather than a book; each story can be recorded once |
| Remento | A weekly prompt by email or text, answered by speaking without an app; each recording becomes a written chapter, and the hardcover book has a QR code per chapter that plays the recording | A book that keeps the voice within reach | You want to arrange recordings around photos, people and places rather than chapters |
| Recording a video call | You record the call with the app you already use, with permission | Seeing and hearing someone who lives far away | The connection is poor; the sound is usually weaker than in the same room |
| The Memory Palace | Add a recording to a room next to the photo and the story, or invite your grandparent to the weekly question: one question a week by email, answered by pressing a button and talking, without an account or an app | Keeping the voice next to the photos and stories, with family adding their own | You want a printed book, the storyteller prefers to write, or you need end-to-end encryption |
The Memory Palace, honestly
The Memory Palace is your own 3D memory palace: photos, videos, voice recordings and written stories hang in rooms you walk through. A recording of your grandmother can hang next to her wedding photo, with the story written out beside it. The palace is private by default; you invite family into a room or a wing, and each person can view only or also add. It runs in the browser and on iPhone, iPad and Android, and you can download everything as one ZIP on every plan, including the free plan with 1 GB.
What it lacks: it does not print a book, it is not end-to-end encrypted (it is encrypted in transit and at rest), and it is newer and smaller than the big names. If a printed book is the goal, Storyworth or Remento may suit you better.
If you would like a place for the recordings, you can start a palace and hang the first one next to its photo. Or begin with the free twenty questions.
Read on: the apps to record grandparents' stories and voices, compared, recording a parent's or grandparent's life story, how to interview older family members, 10 questions to ask your grandparents, and all guides on family stories.
Sources
- Storyworth, how it works (weekly questions by email or text; reply by email, record by phone or write on the website; a hardcover book after a year): welcome.storyworth.com
- Storyworth Help, audio recording: help.storyworth.com/audio-recording
- Remento, website (weekly prompt by email or text, answered by speaking without an app; written chapters; hardcover book with a QR code per chapter that plays the recording): remento.co
- Remento Help, how to download and protect your family memories: help.remento.co/en/articles/8865649-how-to-download-and-protect-your-family-memories