An anniversary gift that's already written — in your own words.
You don't have to shop for this one. Whatever anniversary you're marking, the two of you have already written the gift — in every good-morning, every drive-safe, every you up? at 2 a.m. sitting in your message history. Story of Us reads your own chat export and turns it into a short keepsake built from your actual words, not a template with your names swapped in.
Why it fits an anniversary
An anniversary keepsake works best because there's already a real history to draw from — a year one, a year five, a year twelve, whatever the two of you are counting. It shows the shape of your years together: your busiest year, the pet name that started as a typo, the hour you're most likely to be talking to each other. That's the part a card can't say.
Where do you two talk?
Pick whichever app holds the history you want to use — each one walks through exporting it, screen by screen, before you ever get to the keepsake itself.
- iMessage — read straight from a Mac's
chat.db. See the export steps → - WhatsApp — export a chat straight from your phone. See the export steps →
- Messenger — a "message storage" download from account settings. See the export steps →
What you get
A short, private keepsake built only from your own history — pet names and inside jokes it noticed on its own, your year-by-year rhythm, your busiest hour, the words you reach for without thinking. You read it on your screen, then you can download it as a PDF to keep or print yourself, no subscription and nothing shipped. It's ready in about a minute.
Timing and delivery
It's ready in about a minute once you drop in your export, so this works whether you're planning ahead or it's the morning of. There's nothing to ship — you read it together on a screen, then download it as a PDF if you want to print a page or keep a copy. If you'd rather hand over something wrapped, print that PDF yourself; we don't mail anything.
Privacy, plainly
The export itself never leaves your device — it's read right there in your browser, the same way a photo opens on your computer. To write the handful of captions that need real words (your busiest year, your first exchange, the phrase you didn't know you repeated), we send a much smaller slice to our server: your most-used words and phrases, counts and rhythms (who texts more, your streaks, your busiest hour), and a very small handful of sample messages — your first few texts and your most recent. Not the export file, not your full conversation. Read exactly what we send →
Good to know before you make one
- It's built from one relationship's own history — a group thread won't parse into a clean two-person story.
- A newer relationship still works; a few months of texts just make for a shorter keepsake than a decade would.
- It's a page you read on your own device, not a physical book we print and ship.
Make our anniversary keepsake $5 · one time · iMessage, WhatsApp, or Messenger · stays on your laptop
Want to see a real one first? A peek inside a keepsake → · How it works →
Making this for Valentine's Day instead? See the Valentine's keepsake →
Questions
Does this work for any anniversary, not just a specific year?
Yes — it's built from however much message history the two of you have, whether that's a few months or many years, not tied to a particular anniversary number.
Can I have it ready by a specific date?
It's generated in about a minute once you drop in your export, so there's no lead time to plan around — you can make it the same day you plan to give it.
Is it a physical book that gets shipped?
No — it's a private page the two of you read on screen. You can download it as a PDF afterward and print it yourself if you want something physical to hand over.
What if we've only been together a short while?
It still works — a shorter history just makes for a shorter keepsake. The pet names, rhythms, and busiest hour still show up; there are just fewer years to chart.
Do you see our actual messages when we make this?
The export itself is read in your own browser, never uploaded. A small slice — your most-used words and phrases, counts, and a handful of sample messages — is sent to write the captions. Read exactly what we send on the privacy page.