Help

Everything you need to explore the history around you. Can't find an answer? Ask us.

The map

Zoom in anywhere and we'll gather the documented history of that area for you. The first visit to a new area can take a few seconds while we look it up. Use the buttons along the top to show or hide Historic, Dark & controversial, Weird & curious, Lost places and People lived here. Tap any pin to read its story, see why it's on the map, and find the full article. Pins with a green ring are places where people lived: notable residents (linked to their Wikipedia articles, marked "From Wikidata") and memories from the community. We only list notable residents who have died, never where a living person lives. New to a city? Start with a guide like San Francisco's hidden history or Los Angeles's hidden history.

Search

Start typing to find places and paths on the map. To jump to a street, neighbourhood or city, press Enter or the search button and pick an address. Results favour the area you're looking at.

Paths & tours

• Explore → Paths lists routes people have made through the area. Open one to read it, then tap Start this path for turn-by-turn directions.
• Explore → Places ranks the most notable places on screen. Pick categories, then Make a tour: choose how many stops, how far and how you'll travel, and we'll plan the shortest route.
• Make your own path: tap ＋ Add to my path on any place, then go to Explore → My path to reorder stops, add notes, and publish it for everyone.
• Turn on 🔊 during a tour to hear directions and each stop's story read aloud.

Location

Tap ◎ to follow your location. You'll get a heads-up when you pass a place with a story, and tours update as you walk. Your location is used in your browser; we only receive it when you ask for directions or collect a stamp, and we don't keep a record of where you've been beyond the stamps you collect. See our Privacy Policy. Alerts work while the page is open on your screen.

Be safe and respectful. Watch where you're going, don't use the app while driving, stay on public property, and remember that some places, like homes and memorials, mean something very real to the people nearby.

Stamps & badges

When you're logged in with location on, standing at a place adds a stamp to your passport. Stamp every stop of a path to complete it. Badges reward exploring: dark places, lost places, night-time visits, completing paths, publishing paths that people love. Only you can see where and when you collected stamps; others see your badges and totals.

Stories

• Tell your story: tap ＋ Tell your story and then the place on the map, or open any place and choose Add a story or I lived here. You can add one photo; we remove its location and camera details.
• Getting the spot right: after you tap the map we show the nearest address. Tap Snap pin to this address to move the pin onto it, or Keep my exact spot. You can also drag the pin, tap somewhere else, or type an address. Where there's no address, like a park or the water, the pin is saved as a map coordinate. For "I lived here" we only offer the street and block, never a house number.
• Share it: as soon as it's posted you'll see the card it makes. Tap Share to send it anywhere. Every story has its own link, like herebefore.us/story/…
• Why it's here: add a line saying what makes your story dark, weird or part of history. It's shown with your story, so readers know why it's in its category.
• Someone else's memory: collecting a parent's or neighbour's story? Log in, tick This is someone else's memory, and put their name. It's credited to them "as told to" you. Please only share it with their permission.
• From the archive: some stories are real accounts from history, like eyewitnesses to the 1906 earthquake, credited to their authors with a link to the original.
• React: 🤯 Whoa, 👻 Creepy, ❤️ Moving or 😂 Ha. Tap again to take a reaction back.
• Explore → Stories shows what's Trending (most loved and shared lately) and the Newest stories, around where you're looking first.

How verification works

Every community memory has a verification meter from 0 to 100, built only from evidence you can see. Tap How is this measured? under any memory for its exact breakdown.

• A source link (newspaper, archive, book, museum): +25. A photo: +5.
• Vouches: logged-in members with a confirmed email who know a memory is true can tap ✓ I can vouch for this and say how they know. Each vouch adds 10 (5 from accounts less than a week old), and 10 more if the person was actually there: they've stamped the place, or marked that they lived there. Vouches count for up to 60.
• Trusted Storytellers (members with three memories each vouched for by at least two people, and nothing of theirs hidden by moderators) get a ✓ by their name, and their memories start 10 points up.
• Disputes: each open "this is incorrect" report takes 15 off until a moderator reviews it.
• Moderators who have checked a memory themselves can mark it Verified by Here Before Us.

The levels are Not yet verified (under 30), Partly confirmed (30–59), ✓ Community verified (60–89) and ✓✓ Strongly verified (90+). You can't vouch for your own memories or ones you collected, or for a memory you've reported as inaccurate. Memories from the archive are labelled separately: their quotes are checked word for word against the published original.

Adding history

Tap ＋ Add to the map to mark where you lived or a place with a story, or open a place and choose I lived here or Add a story. For privacy, mark homes by street or block, not a full address. Dark or controversial stories about real people need a source link so others can check them.

Something's wrong

Use ⚑ Flag on any place, story or path. Pick what's wrong and, if you can, tell us what's correct. Accuracy reports show readers a "Disputed" note until a moderator reviews them; sexual, offensive or private content is hidden straight away.

If the problem is a person rather than one post, such as spam, porn, harassment or someone pretending to be someone else, open their profile (tap their @name) and choose ⚑ Report this user. Only moderators see reports. Moderators can suspend an account, which logs it out and hides everything it posted.

Your account

• Sign up with your email (kept private) and a username (shown on your paths and badges). Log in with either.
• We'll email you a link to confirm your email. You can use the site straight away, but vouching for memories and adding a memory on someone else's behalf need a confirmed email, so every vouch and every collected memory is tied to a real inbox. No email? Check your spam folder, or use Resend link on your profile.
• Forgot your password? Choose Log in → Forgot password? and we'll email you a link.
• Change your username or delete your account from your profile (tap your initial at the top right).

Contact us

Questions, corrections, story ideas or problems: we read everything. Email hello@herebefore.us, or use this form.