The Good Old Days
About the app
The Good Old Days quietly digs through your photo library and resurfaces the moments that made you happiest, without ever sending your photos or data anywhere. Everything happens on your device.
The app scans in the background for big smiles, great scenery, celebrations, and milestones. When it finds something good, it surfaces it in your Memory Feed, and can send you a surprise notification to remind you it exists.
Privacy
No photo, face data, or personal information ever leaves your device. All scanning, face recognition, and model training happens entirely on-device using Apple's on-device ML frameworks. The app does not have a server, does not require an account, and does not collect any data.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the app upload my photos anywhere?
- No. Everything happens entirely on your device. Your photos, face data, and personal information never leave your iPhone. The app uses Apple's on-device ML frameworks for all scanning, face recognition, and model training.
- How does the app decide which memories are 'happy'?
- The app scans your photo library for things like big smiles, celebrations, beautiful scenery, and other positive moments using on-device machine learning. The more you use it, adding notes, tags, and confirming memory labels, the better it gets at knowing what matters to you.
- How do I enroll people so the app recognises them?
- Go to the People section and follow the prompts to enroll someone. The app uses on-device face recognition to learn each person's face. You can enrol yourself too. To update a person's profile photo or remove them, long-press their avatar.
- What are Memory Labels and how do I use them?
- Memory Labels let you teach the app what kinds of moments matter to you, for example Celebrations, Travel, or Family Time. You confirm a few example photos for each label, and the app trains a personal model on your device to recognise similar moments going forward. You can manage your labels in Settings.
- How do I share a memory?
- Open any memory to see the full-screen detail view, then tap the share button. The app exports the photo as a stylised polaroid with your note included.
- Can I stop the background scanning?
- Yes. Open Settings inside the app and toggle the background scanning off at any time. You can resume it whenever you like.
- How do I switch between Cards and Polaroids view?
- You can switch display styles in Settings, or look for the view toggle in the Memory Feed. In Polaroids mode you can choose between a scrollable list or a swipeable deck.
Troubleshooting
The app isn't finding any memories
Make sure you've granted the app access to your photo library in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos. Background scanning may also take some time on first launch; leave the app open for a few minutes to let it get started.
Face recognition isn't working well
Try enrolling the person again with a clear, well-lit photo. The more photos you confirm during enrolment, the more accurately the app will recognise them going forward.
I'm not receiving surprise notifications
Check that notifications are enabled for the app in iOS Settings > Notifications > The Good Old Days. Also confirm that background scanning is turned on inside the app's Settings.
The app is running slowly or behaving unexpectedly
Try closing and relaunching the app. Make sure you have the latest version installed from the App Store. If the problem persists, you can reset all data from Settings inside the app.
I want to start fresh
Go to Settings inside the app and use the 'Clear All Data' or 'Reset to First Launch' option. This will remove all enrolled people, memory labels, notes, and tags.
Contact
If you still need help, reach us at sheheryarp@gmail.com.