The Last 5 Years
The journal you already wrote.
Free · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
A zero-input, private journaling app that screens the life you already lived. No account, no writing, and no server required.
Every other journaling app hands you a blank page and asks you to fill it, every day, forever. The Last 5 Years does the opposite: it never asks you to write a single word.
Instead, once a week, it quietly opens your own photo library, your step count, your music, and your weather, and screens the life you already lived. It shows you this exact same week, one, two, three, four, and five years ago.
You’re No Longer the Writer. You’re the Audience.
Traditional journaling apps have the same issues: the blank page is discouraging, they demand daily work, and they hold years of your entries on someone else's servers. The Last 5 Years solves all three at once. It starts full, because you’ve already spent years filling it every time you took a photo.
What a Week Looks Like
The Week's Best Photos: The app prioritizes favorites, faces, portraits, and trips, turning rich weeks into a swipeable set. Sometimes, a short silent video acts as the finale.
The Texture of the Week: Your steps, workouts, weather, and even the songs you were playing add color to the week.
Cinematic Captions: Everything becomes a short, warm, cinematic line. The app never gives you a spreadsheet readout, always a small story.
A Growing Library: Past weeks live on a shelf, replayable exactly as they were written. Over time, the app becomes the journal you never had to keep.
One-Tap Sharing: Any card becomes a postcard you can send to the friend who was in the photo.
Your Data Never Leaves Your iCloud
There is no account, no sign-up, and no server. Photos, health data, and music are read on your device and stay there. Everything the app saves syncs only through your own private iCloud. There is no subscription and no paywall, because your memories were never anywhere but yours to begin with.
Ratings & Reviews
The developer, Christopher Weiss, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Christopher Weiss
- Size
- 1.8 MB
- Category
- Lifestyle
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 17.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 17.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 14.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Chris Weiss