Unboxed and FamilySearch
FamilySearch finds your ancestors. Unboxed lets your grandkids meet one.
FamilySearch is the best free tool there is for building a family tree. It is a research tool first. The journals you add to it are hard to get back out: you can't search the words in them, and you can't ask them a question. That is the job we do.
What FamilySearch does well
It's free. It holds one shared family tree and a huge collection of historical records. If you want to find a great-great-grandmother you've never heard of, start there. We don't do that job.
What it does not do
- It does not read what you upload. A letter in Memories stays a picture of a letter. You can't search the words inside it.
- It does not put one life in order. The dates, people, and places in your papers stay in your papers.
- It does not notice what's missing. It can't tell you that two papers disagree, or that a decade is empty.
- It is not private by default. Memories of someone who has died are public unless you change them.
- It is not yours alone. The tree is shared, and other people can change your grandfather's page.
- It is a research tool first. Your grandkids can open Memories in the app. But they have to know what to look for, and then go dig.
What Unboxed does
One person. Every page. In a form the family will open.
We read every page
Handwriting included. Every page is typed out, with the original beside it.
We make it one story
One timeline. Search a name, a town, or a year.
We find the holes
A missing year becomes a question for someone who still remembers.
It stays in the family
Only the people you invite can open it.
Everyone finds themselves
Everyone sees all that you share, and starts with the stories they're in.
You pay once
Family reads for free. See pricing.
Made for the grandkids
A box is something you open more than once.
These are coming soon. They are not in the app yet.
Quizzes
"How well do you know Opa?" Ten questions, pulled from his own letters.
Coming soonA story for tonight
A nudge on your phone at bedtime, with one short true story to read out loud.
Coming soonQuotes to share
One line from someone you loved, with the page it came from, ready for the family group text.
Coming soonAsk the box
"What was Grandma doing at my age?" An answer in plain words, with the pages it came from.
Coming soonA book you can print
Pick a format, answer a few questions, and get a print-ready book of their life.
Coming soonNews from the box
A note when someone adds a photo, or answers a question about a story you're in.
Coming soonSide by side
Four ways to keep one person's life.
| Unboxed | FamilySearch | Storyworth and Remento | Do it yourself | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starts from | The papers in the box: letters, journals, and photos that exist now. | A name in the family tree. | A living person who answers one question each week. | The same box, a scanner, and your evenings. |
| Collect | We read every page, handwriting included, and type it out. | You upload pictures or PDF files to Memories, up to 15 MB each. | The storyteller writes an answer or records one. A recording is typed out. | You scan each page. Handwriting stays handwriting until someone types it. |
| Preserve | The typed words, with the original page beside them. | A picture of the page. You can't search the words inside it. | The answers, and a printed hardcover book. | A folder of files, as safe as the drive or the account that holds it. |
| Curate | We do it. One timeline, with every person and place tagged. We flag a missing year, or two papers that disagree. | You do it, one upload and one tag at a time. Other users can edit a person's page. | Each answer becomes a chapter of the book. The storyteller can edit it. | You name the files and make the folders. |
| Access | Only the people you invite. | Memories of people who have died are public by default. | The family that is added to the storyteller's account. | Whoever you share the folder with. |
| Interact | Search a name, a town, or a year. Start with the stories you're in. Answer a question about a missing year. | Open Memories in the app. You have to know what to look for. | Read or hear each story when it arrives. Then read the book. | Open a file, if someone knows which one. |
| Cost | One payment for each box. Family reads for free. | Free. | About $99 for one year of questions and one book. | Free, plus your time. |
Keep your tree. Add the box.
You don't have to leave FamilySearch. Keep building the tree there. Bring us the one thing it can't read: the box.
The fine print
We checked the facts about FamilySearch in October 2026, on its own help pages and blog: About, uploading to Memories, who can view Memories, and Full-Text Search. FamilySearch changes often. If we have something wrong, tell us and we'll fix it.
We checked the facts about Storyworth and Remento in October 2026, on their own pages: the Storyworth questions page, the Remento questions page, and Remento's own comparison. Plans and prices change. Unboxed is not connected to either company.
FamilySearch is a service of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Unboxed is a separate company and is not connected to it.