Many of us have years of photographs on our iPhone and rarely look back at them. Shaterian can turn your recent ones into memories. Each of your most recent days with pictures, up to 120 of them, becomes one memory, with the date, often the place, and one of the day's photographs, and new days come in as you take pictures, so you can find them again, ask about them and see where they were.
In short
- On the Today screen, tap Things, then Connect Photos. You choose whether Shaterian sees all your photos or only some.
- Your most recent days with photographs, up to 120, each become one memory, such as “12 photos from Rome”, with one of the day's pictures. New days follow as you take them. The photographs stay in your Photos app.
- Shaterian recognises what is in a picture, such as a beach or a garden. Writing a sentence about the day from the picture itself needs iOS 27 and Apple Intelligence.
How to bring in your photographs
- Open Shaterian and tap Today at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Things. The screen that opens is called Your things.
- Under Add more, find Photos: “Days and places from your photo library, as memories.” Tap Connect Photos.
- Your iPhone asks whether Shaterian may see your photos. You can share all of them or choose some.
The card then says Connected. It brings in your 120 most recent days with photographs. Days older than those are not brought in. If you shared only some, tap Choose which photos later to add more or take some back. Refresh now brings in any new day with pictures. New photographs are also looked for when you come back to the app.
What a photo memory holds
- The day and the count. One memory for each day, such as “3 photos from this day”.
- The place. If the photographs have a location saved with them, the memory often names the town, region or country, such as “12 photos from Rome”. Shaterian looks up at most 40 places each time it reads your photographs, so some days say “from this day” instead. Turning a location into a place name uses Apple's geocoder, so that much leaves your iPhone.
- A picture. Open the memory and one of the day's photographs is shown above the words, a favourite if you marked one. If that photograph is only in iCloud and not on your iPhone, the memory has no picture and is not described.
- What is in it. Shaterian recognises what is in the picture, such as a beach, a birthday or a garden, and reads any words in it, such as a sign. This happens on your iPhone.
On an iPhone with Apple Intelligence (an iPhone 15 Pro or later) running iOS 27, Shaterian shows the photograph to Apple's model on the iPhone, and it writes a sentence about the day. On other iPhones the memory says what was recognised. Only one picture is looked at for each day, so a busy day is summed up by one photograph.
Finding your photo days again
- All memories. Tap Universe, then See all under Latest memories, and choose From photos.
- The Map of Life. Places from your photographs that the globe recognises are pinned on it, and the others are named under it. When your memories span more than a year, a slider moves through them. See how your life connects explains it.
- Asking Smith. Smith, the companion inside Shaterian, answers from your memories, your photo days 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 tells you how many of your memories match and who is in them, and lists them under the answer.
Your photographs stay yours
Shaterian does not move, change or delete your photographs. If you remove a photo memory, the photograph stays exactly where it is. To stop, tap Turn Photos off on the same card, then choose whether to keep the memories that came in or remove them.
The privacy policy lists everything that can leave your iPhone.
Questions people ask
Does Shaterian copy or change my photos?
No. Your photographs stay in the Photos app. Shaterian keeps one memory for each day it brings in, with its date, its place and what is in it, and shows one of the day's pictures from your library.
Can I share only some of my photos?
Yes. When your iPhone asks, choose only some. Later, tap Things on the Today screen, then Choose which photos, to add more or take some back.
Does it describe every photo?
No. One picture is looked at for each day. Writing a sentence about it from the picture itself needs iOS 27 and Apple Intelligence, on an iPhone 15 Pro or later; other iPhones say what was recognised in it.
Why does a day say “from this day” and not a place?
Either none of that day's photographs had a location saved with it, or no place name was looked up for it: Shaterian looks up at most 40 places each time it reads your photographs, and needs an internet connection to do it.
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.
