How to share photos with grandparents who aren't into technology

Most grandparents don't want a new app. They want to see the grandchildren. The best way to share photos with them is the one that needs the fewest steps on their side, even if it takes a bit more effort on yours.

Here are the realistic options, and what each one asks of them.

Start with one question: what do they already use?

Before you pick anything, look at what your parents or grandparents already do without help:

• Do they open email?
• Do they have a smartphone, and do they use it for more than calls?
• Is there Wi-Fi at their place?
• Is someone nearby who can help when something stops working?

The answers usually make the choice for you.

Option 1: printed photos

Asks of them: nothing.

Prints and photo books still work best for people who don't use a smartphone at all. The downside is that it's slow and the work is all yours: choosing, ordering, sending. Many families do a small batch every month or two.

Option 2: email

Asks of them: opening an email.

If they already read email, a short message with three or four photos is easy to follow. Keep it small, because a message with forty attachments is hard to read on a phone. The catch is that photos end up scattered across dozens of emails, and finding "that picture from the lake" a year later is close to impossible.

Option 3: a digital photo frame

Asks of them: keeping it plugged in.

A connected frame that family members can send photos to is lovely for people who will never touch a phone. It needs Wi-Fi, and someone has to set it up. It's a one-way window: grandparents see the photos, but can't easily go back to an older one or save it.

Option 4: a shared family app on their phone

Asks of them: opening one app.

If they use a smartphone, a private family app gives them the most: every photo in one place, and they can look back whenever they want. It only works if the setup is done for them. Some practical tips:

1. Set it up together, in person or on a video call. Install the app, sign them in, and put the icon on the home screen.
2. Make the text bigger in the phone's settings first. It helps in every app, not just this one.
3. Show them one thing. Say "tap here to see new photos", not a tour of every button.
4. Keep notifications for new photos on, and turn off the rest, so the phone doesn't nag them.
5. Don't flood them. Ten good photos from a weekend are better than a hundred.

Where FamilyAtlas fits

We built FamilyAtlas with this situation in mind, so here is an honest summary.

What helps grandparents:

• Joining is one tap on a link. You send the invite in any messenger, they tap it, and they're in the family. Nothing to type.
• Three tabs and large buttons: map, family, profile.
• Photos sit on a map, so they recognise places they know: their own garden, the dacha, the town where you live.
• You can see who has looked. Small avatars on a photo show that grandma has already opened it, so you don't have to ask.

What to know before you choose it:

• It needs an Android phone. There's no iPhone version yet, and no way to view photos in a browser.
• It's photos only, no video for now.

If that fits your family, you can get FamilyAtlas on Google Play. It's free for the whole family up to 2 GB.

The short version

• No smartphone: prints or a photo frame.
• Email only: a few photos at a time.
• A smartphone: one private family app, set up for them, with notifications for new photos.

Whatever you choose, the setup you do for them matters more than the tool itself.