Legacy Loom

Guide

How to use Legacy Loom

A five minute guide. No technical knowledge needed. If you can send a voice note, you can use this.

What it does, in one breath

You give Legacy Loom voice notes from someone you care about. It writes down every word, files each note (recipes, stories, advice), and lets you ask questions. Every answer lets you hear the exact moment they said it.

  1. 1

    Open it

    Tap the link you were sent: legacy-loom-ashen.vercel.app/app. It opens in your phone or computer browser. There is nothing to download and no account to make.

    Tip. On a phone, use your browser's menu and choose Add to Home Screen. Legacy Loom then opens like an app.

  2. 2

    Find your way around

    On a phone the buttons sit along the bottom of the screen. On a computer they are at the top.

    • AskType a question and get an answer from the voice notes.
    • ArchiveEvery voice note, newest first, with a short summary.
    • AddRecord a new voice note or upload one you already have.
    • RecipesEvery dish explained in a voice note, as a recipe card.
    • Next callThe best time to call and what to ask about.

    The small round light at the top right shows whether everything is working. Green means yes.

  3. 3

    Pick a space: their archive, or try it yourself

    At the top of the app there is a switch with two sides.

    • Their archiveThe real voice notes of the person this was made for. Anyone can listen and ask. Only the people who keep it can add or delete, using a passcode.
    • Try it yourselfAn open space for you. Record yourself or upload any voice note, no passcode needed. What you add here is kept apart from their archive and clears itself after 24 hours.

    Testing the app? Use Try it yourself. You can do everything there: record, ask, rate and print.

    Keeping the archive? Tap the round light at the top right to open Settings, type the passcode and tap Unlock. Your phone remembers it.

  4. 4

    Add a voice note

    Tap Add. You have two choices.

    Record now. Tap Start recording, allow the microphone when your phone asks, talk, then tap Stop recording.

    Upload a voice note you already have. Tap Choose files and pick the recording. To get a WhatsApp voice note onto your phone: press and hold the voice note in the chat, tap Share (or Forward, then Share), and save it to your Files. Then choose it from there.

    A short form appears. Fill in when it was recorded, who was asking, and what it was about (for example "jollof rice"). Tap Save to the archive.

    Wait about a minute. Legacy Loom is listening to it, writing it down and filing it. When it is done you will see Open it.

    Good to know. Each file can be up to 4 MB. That is over 30 minutes of a WhatsApp voice note.

  5. 5

    Look through a voice note

    Tap Archive, then tap any voice note. You will see:

    • a short summary of what was said
    • the best lines, word for word
    • a recipe card, if a dish was explained
    • the full written version. Tap any line and you hear that exact moment.

    The round green play button plays the whole recording.

  6. 6

    Ask a question

    Tap Ask and type a question the way you would ask a friend. For example:

    • "How does she make her pepper soup?"
    • "What did he say about his first job?"
    • "Tell me her life story in order."

    The small numbers in the answer, like 1, show where each fact came from. Tap a number and you hear them say it.

    If the answer says they have never talked about that, it is being honest. It will suggest a question to ask next time, and you can save it with one tap.

  7. 7

    Rate the voice notes

    In the Archive, give each voice note from one to five stars. Four or five means it is a keeper.

    After eight ratings, the Next call page starts suggesting the best days and times to call, and which topics bring out the best stories.

  8. 8

    Print the recipe book

    Tap Recipes, then Open the printable book, then Print or save as PDF. Every page has a QR code. Scan it with a phone camera and you hear the recipe told in their own voice.

Testing it for a friend?

Try these and tell them what happened, good or bad:

  1. Open the link on your phone and add it to your home screen.
  2. Switch to Try it yourself at the top of the app.
  3. Add one voice note (or record a short one) and wait for it to finish.
  4. Open it in the Archive and tap a line of the written version. Did you hear the right moment?
  5. Ask two questions on the Ask page. Tap a number in each answer.
  6. Ask about something that was never said. Did it admit it does not know?
  7. Give the voice note a star rating.

Found something odd? Write down what you tapped or asked and what you saw, and send it to the person who shared the link. A screenshot helps a lot.

Read the FAQ