Memex

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Score7.1

Rank#4 of 27

PriceFree

Free planYes

Runs onAndroid, iOS

Summary

Memex is a free, open-source journal app for Android and iOS that turns text, photos, and voice into timeline cards and insights. It is aimed at people who capture everyday details in fragments, such as observations, tasks, and voice memos. On-device OCR, image labeling, and photo EXIF extraction help process captured material. AI agents sort records into categories such as tasks, events, people, places, and transactions; the app surfaces patterns through charts, timelines, quotes, and narrative summaries. Records are kept as Markdown files and in a local SQLite database, with export, backup, and restore options. Backups can go to iCloud Drive, a custom folder, or app storage. Users bring their own model provider, with options including OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Ollama, and others. AI features require a configured model service, which may incur provider charges. When a third-party model is configured, text, photo metadata, OCR text, and card content may be sent directly to that provider for processing. Memex is published under GPL-3.0.

Who it is for

Memex suits people who want to turn scattered notes, photos, and voice recordings into an organized personal journal. It may appeal to users who want local storage and a choice of AI model provider.

What is good

Captures text, photos, and voice.
Stores journal records on-device as Markdown and SQLite.
Offers backup and restore options.
Open-source under GPL-3.0.

What to know first

AI features require a configured model service.
A model provider may charge separately.
Configured providers may receive text and photo-related content.

Verdict

Memex pairs local journal storage with AI organization and pattern summaries. Consider the model-provider requirements and potential sharing of captured content when configuring AI features.

Memex plans and pricing

All plans

Free Free App is free to download · AI features require a configured model service, which may incur provider charges apps.apple.com · 30 Sept 2026

Compared on AI voice note apps

Free plan: Yesmemexlab.ai
AI summaries: Yesmemexlab.ai

Facts

Product: Memex is an open-source, local-first AI journal that turns text, photos, and voice into structured timeline cards and insights.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Capture: The app supports text, photo, and voice capture, with on-device OCR, image labeling, and photo EXIF extraction.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Organization: AI agents organize records into typed cards for tasks, events, metrics, people, places, and other categories.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Insights: The app surfaces patterns across records as charts, timelines, quotes, and narrative summaries.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Storage and export: Records are stored as interconnected Markdown files, with one-click export and backup and restore options.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Model providers: Users bring their own model provider; the site lists OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Ollama, and other providers.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Privacy: The maker says records stay on the device and prompts go directly to the selected model provider; Memex says it does not see users’ data, API keys, or prompts.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Local database: The maker says records are stored on-device as Markdown files and in a local SQLite database, with no journal data uploaded to a server.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Custom agents: Users can create agents with event-driven triggers, custom prompts, JavaScript execution, and inter-agent workflows on their phone.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Backup locations: The app supports backup to iCloud Drive, a custom folder, or app storage.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Availability: The maker links to App Store and Google Play downloads and provides GitHub and an Android APK option.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Support: The project directs users to GitHub issues for bug reports and feature requests and Discord for community discussion and feedback.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
License: The project is published under the GPL-3.0 license.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Audience: Memex is designed for people who capture life in fragments such as short notes, photos, voice memos, observations, tasks, and loose thoughts.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
What it does: Memex captures text, photos, and voice and uses AI to organize them into timeline cards and surface patterns and insights.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Automatic organization: AI agents create typed cards for records, including tasks, events, metrics, people, places, galleries, articles, and transactions.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
AI providers: Memex supports bring-your-own-model connections including OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Ollama, and other providers.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Backup: Users can back up and restore through iCloud Drive, a custom folder, or app storage.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026
Provider data sharing: When a user configures a third-party LLM, text, photo metadata, OCR text, and card content may be sent directly to that provider for AI processing.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
On-device processing: The privacy policy says OCR, image labeling, photo EXIF extraction, and local SQLite storage run on-device.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
Security controls: The app supports biometric authentication for app lock, with biometric data handled by the operating system.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
Integrations: Listed model connections include Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, AWS Bedrock, OpenRouter, and Ollama.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
Maker and team: Memex says it is developed by a small team and open-source contributors, with Haibo Wu as product initiator and core contributor.memexlab.ai · 30 Sept 2026