Same Time Last Year - Simple Time Travel in Apple Photos

Same Time Last Year . . .

I’m a sucker for “on this day in history” websites that offer timely trips down memory lane. It’s probably caused me a month of wasted time over the years of internet surfing. Of course it’s contributed mightily to more than one round of Trivial Pursuit, so I guess it all balances out in the end. 

The thing is that this trivia is always about famous figures; sports greats, Nobel Prize winners, acts of war, or gigantic vegetables that are documented in the Guinness Book of Records. 

So imagine my delight at the discovery that the YEARS tab in Apple Photos does that same thing, but just for me!

And you! 

When you go to the PHOTOS tab and choose YEARS, Photos will offer a preview image of your photos from this day (or close to it) for last year and each year before it. When you tap on the Year preview, Photos zooms in to the Month view, and if you continue, to Days. Choosing ALL DAYS at any point also stays centered on this day for the year in question. 

This works in Photos on both the iPhone and Mac. 

It’s a really fun exercise to look back every so often and see what was going on at this date for you in prior years. 

Enjoy!