Introducing story trees: write your family, watch the tree grow
Today we're launching story trees, a brand new way to make a family tree on PeoplePlotr. Instead of placing people one at a time, you simply write about your family, and the tree draws itself as you type.
Just write it down
Start with something like "My name is Sam. My mum is Mary and my dad is John. I have a sister called Lily." That's all it takes. PeoplePlotr reads your sentences, works out who is who, and places everyone in the right spot. Add a grandparent, a second marriage or a new baby and the tree rearranges itself straight away.
As you write, the words PeoplePlotr understood are highlighted, so you can see exactly what it made of each sentence. If it can't follow a sentence, it marks it so you can put it another way.
Portraits that follow your story
Everyone gets a drawn portrait. Say "Grandad has a bushy white beard and glasses" or "Nan wears a red dress" and their portrait changes to match. Ages come through too, from babies to great-grandparents. Anything you haven't mentioned stays in neutral colours, so a portrait never claims something your story didn't say.
More than a tree
Every story tree comes with a timeline of your family's births, marriages and moves, and a quiz that turns your tree into a game for family gatherings. Pick from designs such as Storybook, Royal, Vintage and Superheroes, each with its own colour schemes.
Share it your way
When you're ready, share a link with family. You decide who can see it: anyone with the link, only people who know a secret word, or just you. Ages of living people are left out unless you choose to show them, and you can leave out surnames too. Living people's birth dates are only ever shown to the year, and full dates stay on your own device.
Free to start
Story trees are free for up to 25 people. Premium accounts can include many more, save the tree as a picture and put it on their own website. If you already use PeoplePlotr, your classic plots are still here and work just as before.