Twile Adds Timeline Capability for FamilySearch Online Users
Contributed By R. Scott Lloyd, Church News staff writer
A screen capture from the Twile website illustrates a new timeline feature available to users of FamilySearch.org.
Article Highlights
- Twile.com has brought new timeline capabilities to FamilySearch.org.
- The new timeline is interactive, and members can share it privately with family.
A new feature that will allow users of FamilySearch.org to generate a family history timeline and share their research with other family members online has resulted from FamilySearch joining forces with Twile, a company based in the United Kingdom.
The timeline is designed to make research and discoveries more engaging from the broader family—especially younger generations—and to encourage collaboration, according to FamilySearch International, the Church’s internet family history service.
Connecting securely to FamilySearch.org, Twile imports a user’s tree and automatically adds events, such as births and marriages to a personal, interactive timeline of the user’s family history. The user can then browse the timeline, add photos and share it privately with other family members.
Twile won two awards in the Innovator Showdown at RootsTech 2016, including the People’s Choice award. Responding to customer requests, Twile immediately started to develop the FamilySearch integration. RootsTech is the family history and technology conference staged each year in Salt Lake City by FamilySearch International.
“The FamilySearch import has been our most requested feature, especially following our success at RootsTech,” said Paul Brooks, Twile CEO. “We have a passionate community of FamilySearch users who have waited patiently while we built it, and we’re so happy that it’s now ready for them.”
While the integration currently imports FamilySearch’s Family Tree data into Twile, soon Twile will be adding support for FamilySearch’s memories and photos plus an automatic synchronization that will keep the Twile timeline up to date as FamilySearch records change.
“FamilySearch is always looking for fun, engaging experiences that help our patrons make new personal discoveries and family connections,” said Steve Rockwood, FamilySearch CEO. “Twile’s rich, custom timeline of key family history events does exactly that.”
To access the new feature and custom timeline, FamilySearch users must register for Twile at www.twile.com. The basic service is free and lets users add up to 10 events and photos per month. A premium account allows subscribers to add unlimited events and photos for $49.99 a year.
