If you’re headed to a family reunion or even just visiting Grandma’s house, here’s a free app you might consider downloading to your iPhone (let’s hope there’s an Android version out soon):
The Saving Memories Forever app lets you record family stories, then store them on the Saving Memories Forever website.
The app is free, as is a basic membership on the site. An enhanced site membership (lets you have unlimited “Story Tellers” and “Story Listeners,” add photos to stories and more) costs $3.99 per month. You’ll find a comparison between the basic and enhanced memberships here.
From the app’s Quick Start guide (download it from the Saving Memories Forever website), it looks like the app is designed to record responses to questions, rather than a freeform oral history interview.
If you don’t have an iPhone, you can upload audio files from your computer to the Saving Memories Forever website, but they must be mp3 files. Learn more about how the site works here.
Not sure what to ask Grandma? 20 questions to ask your family members on FamilyTreeMagazine.com (free article).
And if your interviewee isn’t much of a talker, you’ll find our downloadable guide to oral history interviews with reluctant or reticent relatives on ShopFamilyTree.com