Never used to train AI
Your uploads and restored outputs are not part of any training dataset. Human review is limited to safety or support cases you raise.
Nostalgia Photo Restore
For Genealogists and Family ArchivistsFinish the photo side of your family history — without changing who's in the picture.
Tree software is great for names and records. It won't help with the damaged prints in the shoebox. Nostalgia restores inherited photos, keeps the likeness recognizable, and gives you a private archive relatives can actually open.
Private by designWorks alongside your treeBuilt for inherited collections
Free tier covers 10 restores a month. No credit card. Web is live today; mobile is in TestFlight and Android closed testing.
Restored
OriginalRepair first, keep the archival master, add color only when it helps tell the story.
Works alongside your tree
Keep your tree where it lives. Bring the photos here.
Ancestry, MyHeritage, and FamilySearch are good at names, records, DNA, and relationships. Nostalgia is for the part of family history most tools skip: the photos themselves.
Your tree software handlesNostalgia handles
Names, dates, relationships, and recordsThe photos attached to those names — scan quality, damage repair, and likeness preservation
DNA matches, hints, and tree-building suggestionsCaptions, tags, era estimates, and searchable metadata the archive actually needs
Formal citations and source documentsPrivate family vaults so cousins can browse, identify faces, and contribute missing prints
The result: photos that still look like your ancestors, captions that survive the next generation, and an archive relatives can actually open.
Likeness is the whole point
A portrait that doesn't look like the person isn't a restoration.
General-purpose AI enhancers were built for selfies. Pointed at a great-grandmother, they happily smooth her face into someone who isn't quite her. Nostalgia is designed the other way around: repair what's broken, preserve what's real, and keep the likeness that lets you recognize the person on your tree.
- Restore-first approach — damage is repaired before any stylistic step so facial character survives
- Photo Insight ranks every recommended edit as safe, optional, or blocked for the specific photo in front of you
- The restored black-and-white master is kept alongside any colorized companion view — not replaced by it
Restored
OriginalRestored view keeps the original tonality. Colorization is a separate, optional companion view.
Private by design
Your family's photos stay yours.
You own what you upload
Original scans and restored versions stay yours. Export or delete the full archive at any time.
Private by default
Family Vaults are invite-only. Sharing links are off unless you turn them on, and there is no public profile.
Details in the Privacy Policy and AI Policy.
Archive workflow
Work the way a serious family archive actually gets built.
There is no shortcut to a good archive, but there is a rhythm. This is the workflow most family historians settle into once they have inherited a collection.
Triage before you digitize
Sort the shoebox into priority people, priority events, and everything else. Scan the first two stacks first. A 300–500 print collection becomes a manageable queue in one afternoon.
Scan front and back at archival quality
600 DPI on a flatbed or Google PhotoScan on a phone. Capture the reverse of every print — handwritten names and dates on the back are usually the only surviving identification.
Restore carefully, then stop
Start with the recommended restore pass. Compare before and after. Accept when the likeness is right. Color is a companion view, not a mandatory final step.
Caption while memory is fresh
Fix the AI caption with real names, add what the tool doesn't know, and write down what was said about the photo when it was handed to you. Ten years from now, those notes are the archive.
Share branch by branch
Use Family Vaults — invite-only spaces for cousins, aunts, and siblings. One vault per family branch keeps scope manageable and relatives can contribute missing prints without a social account.
What helps today
Archive-first value already in the product.
- Photo Insight diagnoses damage and proposes a ranked plan before you spend a credit.
- Restore-first workflow that keeps repair separate from stylistic choices.
- Auto-generated captions, tags, and era estimates — editable, so the archive captures what you know.
- Family Vaults with roles (owner, editor, viewer) for private branch-level sharing.
- Library syncs across mobile and web — scan on the phone, organize on a larger screen.
What we're validating next
Archive follow-through before tree ambition.
- Face clustering and Person records so archive users can group photos around real people.
- Stronger archive follow-through: better notes, cleaner handoff, more shareable outputs.
- Deeper collaboration inside vaults before deeper tree work.
- Tree imports (GEDCOM) only if repeated user demand proves they beat simpler archive needs.
This page is part of a 4–6 week validation sprint. If you try Nostalgia and there's an archive job it doesn't help with, tell us — that feedback is how we rank what ships next.
Common questions
What family historians ask first.
Can I use Nostalgia alongside Ancestry or MyHeritage?
Yes. Nostalgia handles the restoration, captioning, organization, and private family sharing side of the job while your formal tree stays in Ancestry, MyHeritage, or FamilySearch. Deeper tree integrations like GEDCOM import are a validation hypothesis, not a current feature.
Will AI change my ancestor's face?
That is the single biggest risk with general-purpose AI enhancers, and it is why Nostalgia starts with a restore-first pipeline that repairs damage before any interpretive step. For ancestor portraits, Photo Insight typically recommends restore first and face enhancement only if needed. A slightly soft portrait that still looks like your ancestor is always better than a crisp portrait of someone who isn't quite them.
What happens to the photos I upload?
They are processed to deliver the restoration you requested and stored in your private library. They are never used to train AI models. You keep ownership of originals and restored versions, and you can export or delete everything at any time.
More answers on the full FAQ.
Further reading
If you want more before you start.
- The Family Historian's Guide to AI Photo Restoration — the long-form workflow, step by step.
- Scanning guide — 600 DPI, flatbed vs PhotoScan, how to capture print backs.
- Restoration gallery — real before-and-after examples to set expectations.
Start with one photo
Try it on an ancestor portrait. Add the rest of the archive only if it earns your trust.
If you're ready to try a photo
Web is live and free to start. One portrait, one restore, see whether the likeness holds up.
Restore a Photo FreeIf you want proof or scanning help first
Browse restored examples or read the scanning guide before you spend a credit.