Lookstory
A private audio guide to Amsterdam — point your phone at a building and hear its story, written from checked sources.
Walk where you like in Amsterdam. When something catches your eye, point your phone at it and hear what it is and why it matters — a minute or two, to read or to listen to while you look. Free, and no account needed.
The problem
A city is full of buildings you walk past without knowing what they are. A guidebook makes you look things up; a tour makes you follow someone else's route at someone else's pace. Neither answers the question you actually have, standing in the street: what is that?
Who it's for
Visitors and residents walking through Amsterdam — alone, as a couple, or with children — who want the story of the thing in front of them, when they want it, without booking anything.
How it works
It is not an image-recognition app. Your position already narrows the world to the handful of places you could be looking at; the photo only says which one you mean. The story you then hear was written once, checked against published sources, and is told to everyone who asks — it is not made up on the spot.
What it does
Point, and it knows
Location narrows the city to a few candidates and your photo picks one — a much easier question than 'what is this a picture of?'. When it isn't sure, it says so.
A story to hear, not to scroll
Every story is a recording of a minute or two, with the text beside it. You can ask follow-up questions about the place you are looking at.
A second telling for children
Each story has a shorter, plainer version for children of about eight to eleven, built on things they can see from where they stand.
Checked, with its sources listed
Dates, names and numbers are checked against published references before a story goes live, and each page links to them. A good story that cannot be confirmed is left out, or told as only a story.
A passport that fills with stamps
Hear a story from anywhere and the place is pencilled in; open it where it stands and it is stamped, with the day. The passport is kept on your phone and nowhere else.
Something new every day
A building of the day, five questions about the city, and small games set in a drawn Amsterdam street — playable from anywhere, not only in the city.
When to reach for it
- You're walking along a canal, a church tower catches your eye, and you want to know what it is before you've walked past it.
- You're showing Amsterdam to children and want a version of the story they will actually listen to.
- You live in the city and have passed the same building for years without knowing what happened there.
- You're not in Amsterdam at all and want five questions about it with your coffee.
Who it's not for
- Other cities, for now — it begins in Amsterdam and would rather know one city well than a hundred badly.
- Identifying anything at all — it tells the stories of the places it has written about, not of every object a camera can see.
- A turn-by-turn route or a booked tour — you walk where you like; it answers when you ask.
Pricing
Free, and no account needed. Signing in with Google is optional and adds two things: it walks with you and tells each story as you pass, and it says a few words about your own photo.
Frequently asked questions
What is Lookstory?
Lookstory is a web app that works as a private audio guide to Amsterdam. You point your phone at a building, statue or bridge, it works out which place you mean from your position and your photo, and it tells you that place's story in a minute or two.
Is Lookstory free?
Yes. It is free and needs no account. Signing in with Google is optional and adds a walk-with-me mode and a few words about your own photo.
How does Lookstory know what I am looking at?
It starts from where you are standing, which narrows the city to the handful of places it has a story for nearby. Your photo then says which of those you mean. That is why it is not a general image-recognition app, and why it tells you when it is not sure.
Are Lookstory's stories written by AI on the spot?
No. Every story is written once and told to everyone who asks. Its dates, names and numbers are checked against published references before it goes live, and each page lists them.
Which languages does Lookstory support?
Seven: English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Turkish — for the interface and for the stories.
What does Lookstory do with my location and photos?
Your position is used to find the places near you. A photo is made smaller on your phone, matched on the server, and then discarded — photos are not saved. There is no advertising, and visits are counted only if you allow it.