How to make a year-in-review photo calendar in 2 minutes

Every December the same thing happens: you scroll back through thousands of photos trying to remember what actually happened this year. A year-in-review photo calendar fixes that. Instead of a random photo dump, you get twelve months on one page, with each memory sitting on the exact day it happened.

Why a calendar beats a photo dump

A carousel of 10 photos shows highlights. A calendar shows your whole year at a glance: the busy months, the quiet weeks, the weekend trip you forgot about, the three days in a row you were at the beach. Patterns appear that a carousel can never show.

Step 1: Pick your photos

Open Year Edition on your phone and tap + Photos. Select as many photos as you like from your gallery. You don't have to sort them first.

Step 2: Let the dates do the work

Most phone photos carry a hidden "date taken" stamp. Year Edition reads it and drops each photo onto the right day automatically. Photos without a date (screenshots, forwarded images) go on the day the file was saved, and you'll be told how many that was.

Step 3: Add your trips

Tap the first day of a trip, then the last day, and choose Trip. Give it a name and a color. The days light up in that color so your travels stand out at a glance.

Step 4: Share it

Tap Share story to get a 1080×1920 image made for Instagram stories, or Get link to share a page anyone can open, with every photo viewable full-screen.

Tips for a better-looking calendar

• One great photo per day beats five similar ones. The calendar shows one photo per day on the grid.
• Give each trip its own color so friends can tell them apart.
• Add flights and train rides; they show as little ✈️ and 🚆 badges on the day.
• Do it month by month in December, while the memories are fresh.