Bring in letters, reports and old journals, kept whole.

Some of the best of a life is already written down: a letter you kept, a diary from years ago, a report from the clinic. Shaterian can take those in as well as what you say to it. You choose a file, and it reads the words on your iPhone and keeps them as a memory, so you can find them and ask about them later.

What you can bring in

• PDFs, such as a letter from the hospital or a report you were emailed. If a PDF is a scan with no text in it, Shaterian reads the words from the pictures of its pages.
• Plain text and RTF files: something you typed years ago, a family history, an old journal kept on a computer. Save a Word document as a PDF first, then bring in the PDF.
• Photographs of pages: a letter, a page of a diary, a card. Take a picture of it, save it to the Files app (in Photos, tap Share, then Save to Files), then choose it there. Printed words are read best.

How to bring in a file

1. Open Shaterian and tap Today at the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap Things. The screen that opens is called Your things.
3. Under Add more, find A letter, a note, a page and tap Choose a file.
4. Pick the file. When it has been read, the screen says Kept. with the first words of the memory.

You can also get there from Settings: open Your information, then tap Bring things in.

At the top of Your things, What you have brought in lists the newest files and photographs. A file whose whole text is kept says whole file kept under its date. Tap one to read it.

What happens to the file

• The words are read on your iPhone. Shaterian takes the text out of the file on the phone, and reads photographs of pages and scanned PDFs on the phone too.
• The whole text is kept. The memory's card shows a short summary, but nothing is cut. A name on the last page is still found.
• The summary needs Apple Intelligence. With Apple Intelligence, on an iPhone 15 Pro or later, the card has a short summary in the first person. On other iPhones it shows the opening lines of the text instead.
• It is filed for you. The memory is tagged with the people, places, themes and feelings in it, and joins your Memory Universe.

Your memories are kept on your iPhone, and there is no server of ours for them to go to. If you switch on Sync with iCloud, which is off unless you turn it on, your memories, with the full text of the files you brought in, are kept in your own iCloud as well. The privacy policy lists the six things that can leave your iPhone.

Asking about what you brought in

Once a letter or a journal is in, you can ask Smith, the companion inside Shaterian, about it: “What did the consultant write about my medication?” or “When did Aunt Mary write about the farm?” He answers from your own memories, the files included, and shows which ones he used. Ask your own memories explains how. With Apple Intelligence, on an iPhone 15 Pro or later, he writes the answer in sentences; on other iPhones he lists the memories that match.

A doctor's report can also go in from the Health room, with Import a PDF, and is then filed under Health.

Questions people ask

Can I keep old letters in Shaterian?

Yes. Take a photograph of each page and save it to the Files app, then tap Things on the Today screen and Choose a file. Shaterian reads the words on your iPhone and keeps them as a memory. Printed words are read best.

Which kinds of file can I bring in?

PDF, plain text and RTF files, and photographs of pages. Scanned PDFs are read from the pictures of their pages. Save a Word document as a PDF first.

Does Shaterian keep the whole document?

Yes. The card shows a short summary or the opening lines, but the whole text is kept, and Smith can answer from any part of it.

Is the file moved or changed?

No. The file stays where it is. Shaterian keeps its words as a memory.

What does it cost?

Two weeks free, then $2.99 a month, through the App Store. It needs an iPhone with iOS 17 or later.