Questions, quietly answered.
Last checked: October 25, 2026
Otay is a private photo journal for two, on iPhone. Something else on your mind? Write to hi@otay.app. A person reads every email.
How Otay works
What is Otay?
Otay is a private photo journal app for two people, on iPhone. Each day you both get the same small photo quest and answer it with a photo and a selfie, and the two answers sit side by side in a journal only the two of you can see.
How is Otay different from Locket, Paired or Between?
Locket Widget sends photos to friends' Home Screens, Paired and SumOne are question and quiz apps, and Between is a private chat and shared calendar for couples. Otay is none of those: it is a journal. It asks one photo question a day and keeps both answers, with captions, places and times, in a calendar, a map and throwbacks, so the relationship leaves a record behind.
How does Otay work?
A small photo quest arrives every day, the same one for both of you. Each of you answers with one tap of the camera: the back camera for the moment, the front camera for your face. Add a caption and a place, and your two halves hang side by side as one memory.
What if we miss a day?
Nothing is lost. An unanswered quest stays open for as long as you like, and a new one still arrives tomorrow. Otay counts the days you both answered, and a missed day takes nothing away from it.
Who can see our photos?
Only the two of you. There is no public feed, no followers and no likes. Photos are encrypted in transit and at rest, we never sell your data or show ads, and we do not train any model on your photos.
Is it only for couples?
Otay is built for two people: a partner, a best friend, a sibling far away. One invite pairs your two phones, and that is the whole circle.
How much does it cost?
Otay is free to download and use, with a new quest every day and no ads for anyone. Otay Premium shows every memory, however old, and adds all the paper colours, frames and film looks, drawing on photos, HD sharing with no mark, and extra quests whenever you like. One membership covers you both.
How long are memories kept?
The free plan shows your last 30 days, and always at least your newest 15 memories. Older memories are locked, never deleted, and open again whenever either of you subscribes. Otay Premium shows every memory, and either of you can save any memory to your phone's photo library at any time.
Can we change the quest?
Yes. Not feeling today's quest? Roll another, and pick a theme for it: cozy, foodie, outdoors, romantic, playful, or a surprise.
What can we customise?
Your two little characters can wear shirts, hats, glasses, necklaces and body colours, bought with coins you earn from quests, and you can try anything on first. Prints can be dressed up with paper colours, frames and film looks. A jar of date ideas lives in the app too, and a shake draws one.
What do I need?
An iPhone on iOS 17 or later, and your person. Otay is not on Android yet.
Pricing
Does one subscription cover both of us?
Yes. When either of you subscribes to Otay Premium, you both get it. Your partner does not need to buy anything.
How is Otay Premium billed?
Otay Premium is an auto-renewing subscription billed by Apple through your Apple Account. The App Store shows the price for your country before you pay. Otay never sees your card details.
How do I cancel Otay Premium?
On your iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, choose Otay and cancel. You keep Premium until the end of the period you have already paid for.
What happens to our memories if we stop subscribing?
Nothing is deleted. Memories older than 30 days are locked (you always see at least your newest 15), and they open again the moment either of you subscribes. You can save any memory to your photo library at any time, on either plan.
What are coins?
Coins dress your characters in hats, glasses, shirts and accessories. Every quest earns coins, and a missed day never takes any away. Coin packs are also sold as optional one time purchases in the app. You never need coins to use the journal.
Privacy
Is Otay end-to-end encrypted?
No. Your photos and data are encrypted in transit and at rest by our storage providers (Supabase and Cloudflare R2), but this is not user-controlled end-to-end encryption. We access data only to run, debug or support the app. Our privacy page explains the details.
Does Otay show ads or sell our data?
No. There are no ads on any plan, no third-party advertising or analytics SDKs in the app, no tracking across other apps, and we never sell your data.
Do you train AI on our photos?
No. We never train any model on your photos or captions.
Devices and account
Is Otay on Android?
Not yet. Otay is an iPhone app for iOS 17 or later, so both of you need an iPhone for now. The App Store also lists it as compatible with iPad. There is no Android app and no web version of the journal: otay.app is only this website, and any app called Otay on Google Play is not ours.
Which languages does Otay speak?
English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
Does Otay have widgets?
Yes, for the Home Screen and the Lock Screen. They show whether you have both answered today's quest, your latest memory, a note, the days to your anniversary, and buttons that send a Hey! or a Miss you without opening the app.
How do we pair our phones?
On one phone, open Otay and tap Send invite. Share the code or link however you like. Your partner enters it under I have an invite, and you are paired.
How do I delete my account?
In the app, open Us and choose delete account. This removes your account and your memories from our servers. You can also email hi@otay.app.
What Otay doesn't do
Is there a lifetime purchase of Otay Premium?
No. Otay Premium is only a monthly or a yearly subscription, and one subscription covers both of you. The only one time purchases in the app are optional coin packs for your characters' wardrobe.
Can we share videos or voice notes in Otay?
No. Otay is photos only. Each quest answer is a back-camera photo and a selfie, with a caption, a mood and a place if you like. There is no video and no voice recording.
Can I add old photos from my camera roll?
No. Quest answers are taken in the moment with Otay's dual camera, so you cannot import photos from your library, and there are no albums or trip folders to fill. For holiday photo dumps, a shared album in Photos or Google Photos is the better tool.
Is Otay a messaging app?
No. There is no chat. You can tap your partner to send something small, like a Hey!, a hug, a coffee or a goodnight, leave a short note, and put a heart on a memory, but you keep talking wherever you already do.
Can we download all our memories at once?
Not yet. There is no bulk export. Either of you can save any single memory to your phone's photo library at any time, on the free plan or Premium.
Is Otay connected to other apps or places called Otay?
No. Otay is the couples photo journal from otay.app, listed on the App Store as Couples Photo Journal · Otay. It has nothing to do with other apps, businesses or places that share the name.
Otay and other apps
How is Otay different from Between, Paired, SumOne, Locket or Day One?
Otay does one thing: a daily photo quest for two, kept as a shared journal. Between is a private messenger for couples, Paired and SumOne are daily question apps, Locket puts friends' photos on your Home Screen, and Day One is a full journal app with shared journals. Our comparison pages go through each one honestly, including where the other app is the better choice.