Yearshelf

Keep a copy of what matters

A book for years.
A backup for later.

Your books live on your device. An open Yearshelf backup gives you a separate, portable copy of your words and photos. Make one before changing phones, uninstalling the app, or erasing a device.

An open backup is readable.

The ZIP contains your writing and photos. It is not encrypted. Save it somewhere private and do not send it to someone unless you want them to read it.

Make and check a backup

  1. Open Yearshelf’s backup tools and create an open backup.
  2. Choose a safe destination in your phone’s file picker or share sheet. Keep a second copy outside the phone.
  3. Let the app’s verification finish. It checks the archive contents and file hashes. A successful local check does not confirm a cloud upload has finished.
  4. Find the saved file in your chosen destination. If you used a cloud folder, wait for its upload to finish and confirm you can access the copy from another device.

Move to a new phone

  1. Make a fresh backup on the old phone and keep both the old phone and the backup.
  2. Install Yearshelf on the new phone and open the backup through its restore/import tools.
  3. Review the book and entry counts, then restore. Restored books are added as copies so a newer entry is not silently replaced by an older backup.
  4. Open several dates and photos on the new phone, including recent and older entries. Only erase the old phone once you have checked the restored books.

Your backup can move between Android and iOS. A Full Shelf purchase does not transfer between Apple and Google stores; use Restore for purchases made in the same store.

What is in the file?

The ZIP includes structured book data, a CSV export, readable Markdown grouped by book and year, JPEG photos and a manifest with SHA-256 file hashes. You can keep and read these files without an account, subscription or Full Shelf purchase. Archive import and export have a 256 MB in-app limit.

If verification fails

Keep the existing books and the original backup. Try copying the file again from the original destination; do not treat a failed verification as a successful restore. Contact support@outworldapps.com with the error wording and app version. You do not need to send your memories to describe an error.

Do not rely on a device backup alone

The journal’s local encryption key is tied to secure device storage. A normal operating-system backup or phone transfer may carry encrypted data without a usable key. An open Yearshelf backup is the portable copy to keep and verify.