Family History App vs Genealogy Site: What's the Difference?
Genealogy sites build family trees from records. Family history apps capture the actual stories. Here's how to choose — or use them together.
The two different problems
Genealogy is about going back — discovering ancestors, building trees from census records and DNA, connecting to long-lost cousins. Family history apps are about capturing forward — recording the stories, voices, and wisdom of relatives who are alive (or recently were) so the next generations can know them.
Genealogy sites at a glance
Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch (free, run by the LDS Church), Findmypast. Best for: building a family tree, finding records, taking DNA tests. Limitations: they don't capture stories, voices, or anything that wasn't already written down somewhere.
Family history apps at a glance
AltLife Heirloom AI, StoryWorth, Remento, HereAfter AI. Best for: capturing the actual stories of relatives who are alive — voice, video, written memories, photos with context. Limitations: they don't build trees from public records.
Why most serious family historians use both
Ancestry tells you that your great-grandfather emigrated in 1912. AltLife is where your grandmother records the stories he told her about why he left, what he found, and what he wished he'd known. The tree without the stories is data. The stories without the tree are floating. Together they're a family history.
What to do first
If your older relatives are still alive, start a family history app first. Their voices can never be re-recorded. Genealogy can wait — the records are not going anywhere. AltLife is free for the first 15 memories.