Introducing LiveMemory™: Bring Your Photos to Life in Video
Imagine that iconic photo of your mother as a young dancer, or of you and your siblings playing together on the beach as children. Wouldn’t it be amazing to revisit those moments and relive them as if the scenes were playing out right in front of you? Well, we have fantastic news: now you can, thanks to our brand-new feature, LiveMemory™, available exclusively on the MyHeritage mobile app!
LiveMemory™ enables you to turn any still photo into a short video clip using AI. It animates the scene in the photo, reimagining it as if you had traveled back in time to watch it live. It’s the ultimate way to reminisce.
Watch the video below to see LiveMemory™ in action:
If you don’t already have the MyHeritage mobile app installed on your device, head over to the App Store or Google Play or scan the QR code below and give it a try now! If you already have the MyHeritage mobile app, make sure you are using the latest version by visiting the MyHeritage app on the App Store or Google Play. Then tap Update. We’re gradually rolling out the feature over the coming days, starting in the United States and Europe. More countries will follow, so if you don’t see LiveMemory™ immediately when opening the app, don’t worry! You’ll see it soon.
Scan the code to download the MyHeritage app:
Scan to download the MyHeritage app
LiveMemory™ examples
Back in 2021, we released Deep Nostalgia™, our feature to animate photos that went viral and took the world by storm. There’s no question people love animating their old photos, and LiveMemory™ takes it to the next level. While Deep Nostalgia™ animated a single face in a photo and was limited to a few pre-defined animation sequences, LiveMemory™ animates the entire photo to bring the whole scene to life in a highly realistic way, and the variety is unlimited. See the magic for yourself:
LiveMemory™: Parents of Mayan Cohen, Director of AI at MyHeritage
LiveMemory™: Grandparents of Esther Shuman, Senior Marketing Manager at MyHeritage
LiveMemory™: Before and after
LiveMemory™ of Erica Edvi, Head of Copy and Brand at MyHeritage, with her brother
With Deep Nostalgia™, millions of people were amazed — and many were moved to tears — as they saw their loved ones’ faces move. LiveMemory™ takes that experience even further, reviving long forgotten memories and evoking the same sense of nostalgia and connection as scenes from your family’s history come to life before your eyes. The videos are perfect for sharing on social media with family and friends. We encourage you to share them using the hashtags #MyHeritage #LiveMemory.
Early reviews of LiveMemory™
Leading family history bloggers are already raving about LiveMemory™. Maureen Taylor, known throughout the genealogy community as The Photo Detective™, was astonished when she saw her LiveMemory™ videos, calling it “a stunning new development in family history storytelling. Seeing my ancestors move was surreal.” Roberta Estes from DNAeXplained was speechless; she was too overcome with emotion as she watched a video clip of her mother dancing. She later said, “It’s really powerful. I need a whole box of Kleenex now!” James Tanner, author of the Genealogy’s Star blog, said that LiveMemory™ “brings home the real emotion of genealogy and creates a stronger connection to your ancestors.”
LiveMemory™ of Roberta Estes’ mother
A lovely LiveMemory™ courtesy of Maureen Taylor
How it works
LiveMemory™ uses cutting-edge AI technology to animate whole photos and simulate the scenes depicted in them in a highly realistic way. When a photo is uploaded, the AI model analyzes it to create the most suitable animation to reenact the scene. In photos with multiple people, the algorithm will animate the gestures and make them interact based on what it thinks will be most realistic. The result is a stunning 5-second video clip. LiveMemory™ is perfect for reenacting nostalgic family photos. It also works well on photos with non-human subjects such as pets or vehicles. The algorithm can simulate parts of the scene not pictured in the original photo, as if a camera is following the movement beyond the edges of the photo.
How to use LiveMemory™
If you don’t have the MyHeritage app installed on your phone, download it from the App Store or Google Play. If you already have the app, please update it so you have the latest version. Open the app and tap the LiveMemory™ banner at the top of the home screen, marked below in red.
Accessing LiveMemory™ from the app home screen (click to zoom)
You can also access LiveMemory™ from the “hamburger menu” on the top left of the screen, marked above in green.
MyHeritage app menu (click to zoom)
Before uploading a photo to MyHeritage from your device, you’ll need to enable photo gallery access. You can also select photos that you have previously uploaded to MyHeritage. Any photos you’ve uploaded to MyHeritage in the past are accessible on the mobile app, under the section called App Gallery. Tap to select the photo you want to use for your LiveMemory™, either from your device or from the App Gallery, and then tap “Next”.
Selecting a photo from your device or app gallery
Before you can create your video, you’ll be asked to consent to the LiveMemory™ terms.
Creating a LiveMemory™ takes only a few minutes; however, when there is high demand and the servers are busy, it can take longer. You’ll receive an email when your video clip is ready. Initially, your LiveMemory™ will be emailed to you as an attachment. We’ll soon add the ability to view all LiveMemory™ videos in the MyHeritage app.
Download the video from the email and play it — you won’t believe your eyes!
LiveMemory™ of Golan Levi, our Concept Manager and UX Expert who initiated the LiveMemory™ project
Sharing
LiveMemory™ videos enable you to relive the past and are perfect for sharing with family and friends on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky, WhatsApp, and other social media. We encourage you to share your video clips with the hashtags #MyHeritage and #LiveMemory.
Are LiveMemory™ videos authentic?
No. While highly realistic, the video clips are reenactments created by artificial intelligence; they are not authentic. As part of MyHeritage’s commitment to responsible AI, a watermark labeled “AI” is added to LiveMemory™ videos to distinguish them from authentic videos.
Privacy
Any photo you upload to the LiveMemory™ feature will be stored on your account on MyHeritage, to enable you to use the other MyHeritage photo tools to improve it. You may delete the photo at any time from your account. MyHeritage will not license or sell your photos to third parties and will not use them to train internal AI models. LiveMemory™ is based on technology from a third party that does not obtain rights to your photo or the output video. Your explicit consent is required, granting MyHeritage permission to process your photo before activating the LiveMemory™ feature.
Responsibility
With great power comes great responsibility. Please use LiveMemory™ responsibly: do not upload photos of living people unless you receive their prior permission. Do not upload photos that depict hate, violence, pornography, drugs, or any offensive subject matter. Do not upload photos of military scenes, or scenes with wounded or dead people. Do not share results that may humiliate or offend anyone. Do not remove the AI symbol from the corner of the resulting videos. If any of the results have the potential to offend anyone, do not share it. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Cost
Anyone can try LiveMemory™ for free, for a limited number of videos. To create more LiveMemory™ videos, an annual Photo plan or Omni plan is required. The annual Photo plan currently costs only $49.90 per year and is available exclusively on the MyHeritage app. It provides unlimited access to all of the other MyHeritage photo features including MyHeritage In Color™, Photo Enhancer, Photo Repair, Deep Nostalgia™, and the Photo Scanner. Users with a Photo plan can create 20 LiveMemory™ videos annually. As a thank you for their loyalty, Complete subscribers are eligible for a 25% discount on the Photo plan, and can purchase it for just $37. Users with a MyHeritage Omni plan can create 30 videos annually. Learn more about the MyHeritage Omni plan here.
Future updates
This launch is only the beginning. We already have several enhancements in the works to make your use of LiveMemory™ even better! In this initial version of LiveMemory™, video clips are not stored on MyHeritage and are only emailed to you as an attachment. Very soon we will add the ability to view your LiveMemory™ videos on MyHeritage and store them in your family site, so you can access them easily. Many more enhancements will follow.
Try LiveMemory™ today!
LiveMemory™ reflects what MyHeritage is all about: inspiring people worldwide to connect to their ancestors in fun and meaningful new ways, so they can celebrate and treasure their family history. The sweet sense of nostalgia that you feel as you relive cherished moments makes family history more personal, impactful, and memorable. We invite you to try LiveMemory™ now. And if you’re already wondering “what will they think of next”, stay tuned!
