What Tellingly does
Last updated November 4, 2026
Tellingly is a phone app for iPhone and Android that keeps your family's stories in the voices of the people who tell them.
This page lists everything the app does, in plain words. It is for anyone deciding whether Tellingly is right for their family. Questions about using the app are on the Help page.
Tellingly in short
A storyteller, often a parent or grandparent, gets one question a day and answers it out loud. Tellingly keeps the recording and writes out the words. Their family can listen, ask their own questions, and find any story in seconds. Over time, a biographer reads the stories and writes the story of that person's life, quoting their own words.
- Their real voice. Every story is their own recording. Tellingly never copies a voice. Every word you hear, they really said.
- A biographer of their own. It reads every story, asks about what they left out, and writes their life story when there is enough.
- Hear them say it. Tap a quoted line in the biography and hear the moment they said it.
- Ask the stories a question. Get an answer drawn only from your family's recordings, with the stories it came from.
- A family tree of stories. Tap anyone on the tree, even someone who died long ago, and see every story about them.
- The whole family takes part. Many storytellers, questions from anyone, and listening is free.
- The storyteller decides who hears each story, and when. Now, on a date they pick, or after they are gone.
- iPhone and Android.
1. Telling a story
This is what the storyteller sees each day.
- One question a day, under one big red Record button. They answer out loud, in their own words. No typing.
- More than 250 questions. They start light and go deeper over time. Any question can be skipped.
- They can also tell any story they like, or tell a story about a photo.
- Questions from family come first, marked with who asked.
- They can pause, and add more parts later. The parts play as one story.
- When they finish, they see their words written out. They can listen back and fix a word the app heard wrong.
- A gentle coach shows what the story has so far (who was there, where and when, what it was like, why it mattered) and asks one small question to help them add more.
- They can add a photo to a story.
- No signal? The recording is saved on the phone and uploads later.
- A daily reminder comes at a time and on the days they choose.
2. The biographer and the biography
This is how a pile of stories becomes the story of a life.
- As new stories come in, the biographer reads them. It sees which parts of their life need more detail, and asks about what they left out. They show up on the storyteller's Record screen as "The biographer asks."
- The app shows how the biography is going, and which questions would help it most right now.
- The questions cover seven parts of a life: where you came from, growing up, becoming yourself, love and family, work and purpose, hard times and turning points, and what it all meant.
- When there are enough stories with real detail, the storyteller taps "Make my biography." The biographer writes it in about ten minutes.
- The biography has a title and chapters. It quotes their own words all the way through. Tap any quote to hear them say it.
- Photos sit beside the stories they came from. Every line leads back to the story it came from.
- It grows. Each new edition adds the new stories and says what is new. Every edition is kept.
- The family can read it. Anything a reader is not allowed to hear stays hidden from them.
- Each biography is one person's life, not a family scrapbook. It lives in the app; it is not a printed book.
3. Finding a story: search and Ask
This is how the family finds what they are looking for.
- Search for a name, a place, or a moment, and land on the moment it was said. It finds names even when they are spelled differently, and it knows that "my mom" or "Nana" means a certain person.
- The words light up as a story plays. Tap any word to hear it from there.
- Ask lets you ask a question in plain words, like "What was Grandpa's first job?" The answer comes only from your family's recordings. It shows the stories it used. Tap one to hear that moment in their voice.
- When the stories do not say, Ask says so. It does not make up an answer.
- Did not find it? Send the question to the person who would know. It waits on their Record screen.
- Anyone in the family can fix a word the app heard wrong. The recording itself never changes.
4. The family and the family tree
This is how everyone takes part.
- Invite someone to tell their stories, or to listen and ask. Listening is free.
- Ask any storyteller a question. It waits on their screen, ahead of the daily question. You hear when they answer.
- Ask the whole family one question at once, and choose whether they can hear each other's answers right away or only after everyone has answered.
- Ask a follow-up question on any story.
- Build the family tree in plain words: Mom, Dad, Aunt, Cousin, step-family, or "like family." Add people who will never use the app, and people who have passed away.
- Tap anyone on the tree to see every story told by them and every story about them.
- The app suggests who each story is about. The family confirms it with a tap.
- Belong to more than one family, switch between them, and search them all at once.
5. Who hears each story, and when
This is how the storyteller stays in charge.
- After each story, the storyteller chooses who can hear it: the whole family, certain people, or just themselves. They can change it any time.
- They also choose when: now, on a date they pick (a birthday, a wedding day, ten years from now), or after they pass. Until then, nobody else can hear it.
- They can name one person to look after their stories, and decide what that person may do.
- Only that person can report that the storyteller has passed away. Then there is a 30-day wait. If it was a mistake, one tap stops it.
- After that, stories saved for after they pass open to the people they chose.
6. Your stories stay yours
This is what we promise about the stories.
- Any storyteller can download every recording they made, with their photos, any time, up to once a month.
- Tellingly never copies a voice or makes a pretend version of anyone.
- We never sell your stories, and we never use them for ads.
- Nothing leaves the family unless a storyteller chooses to offer it to the Community.
7. The Community
This is an extra place to hear stories from other families. Taking part is up to each storyteller.
- A storyteller can offer a story to the Community. Every offered story is reviewed before anyone hears it.
- Names can be silenced before it is shared, and the story can be taken back at any time.
- Listeners hear stories by theme, by decade, and by moments in history.
- You must be 18 or older to offer a story.
8. What it costs
- Listening is always free. Only storytellers pay.
- Everyone can tell their first stories for free. After that, a plan is $99 a year for one storyteller.
- A gift is different. You pay once, for a full year, and nothing renews. It is $99 for one storyteller or $149 for two.
How Tellingly is different
Most family story gifts send questions for a year and print the written answers in a book. Tellingly is built around the voice and keeps growing. See Tellingly, Storyworth and Remento compared.
- You hear the person, not only read them. Every word you hear, they really said.
- A biographer asks follow-up questions and writes their life story, and the biography grows with each new story.
- You can ask the stories a question and hear the answer in their own recording.
- The whole family is in one place: many storytellers, a family tree, and questions from anyone.
- Each storyteller decides who hears each story, and when, including after they are gone.
Who makes Tellingly
Tellingly is made by Revoice LLC in Austin, Texas. It was started by Steve Palaia, who built it to keep his own family's stories. Questions? Email support@tellingly.com and a person will answer.