Deep Nostalgia is still running. MyHeritage offers it next to a newer tool called LiveMemory, and both need a MyHeritage account and, after a few clips, a paid plan.
Here are five tools that turn an old photo into a few seconds of motion, LiveMemory among them. Whichever you choose, repair the photo first: the animation moves every crack and speck along with the face.
- 01FixFade, for a damaged photo: it repairs the scan, then adds five seconds of gentle motion.
- 02bestphoto.ai, if you'll make clips every month: the same kind of clip on a monthly plan.
- 03MyHeritage LiveMemory, if your family tree is already there.
- 04Google Photos, to try at no cost: a few clips a day, where it's offered.
- 05CapCut, to direct the motion: you describe the movement in a sentence.
What happened to Deep Nostalgia
MyHeritage launched Deep Nostalgia in February 2021, with technology licensed from a company called D-ID. It animates one face at a time, with a turn of the head, a blink and a smile, and it sharpens the face automatically before it starts.
Late in 2024 MyHeritage added LiveMemory, which moves the rest of the photo too and makes a six-second clip. Both are still offered.
Repair the photo before you animate it
Animation software can't tell a crack from a wrinkle. It moves every mark on the face as if it belonged there, so a crack bends when the mouth moves and dust specks drift with the cheek.
Here is one archive portrait from a water-damaged glass plate, animated twice with the same motion.
On the left, the crack that runs through his lips becomes part of his smile. Once damage moves, it's much harder to remove than it was on the still. If you'd rather do the repair yourself, here is how to restore an old photo.
Then watch the last second. Both clips end on a smile this soldier didn't give the photographer: the software invented the motion, and the smile came with it.
If the family remembers a serious face, keep the repaired still as the record and treat the clip as a guess. Compare the face with the print before you share it, and ask the family first when the person in the photo has died.
1. FixFade: best when the photo is damaged
FixFade's Animate starts with a repair: upload the scan and it mends tears, cracks, stains and fading first, keeping a black-and-white photo black and white. Then it adds small motion, like breathing, a blink, a slow drift of the camera and sometimes a smile, and nobody talks or waves.
The clip is 5 seconds, silent, at 480p, and takes about two minutes. Animate costs 5 credits and needs an account, with no trial. Packs are a one-time payment, from $19 for 25 credits to $89 for 200, so a clip costs $2.23 to $3.80, and credits never expire.
You can see the repair before you pay anything: the restore gives 2 free watermarked previews a day, no card needed. It works in your phone's browser, nothing to install. For more repairs like this one, across the decades, see archive photos before and after restoration.
Better than us if you want to try the motion before you pay, or want a slightly longer clip: Google Photos and LiveMemory both make six-second ones.
2. bestphoto.ai: best if you'll make clips every month
bestphoto.ai is made by the same team as FixFade. Its Animate Old Photos tool also repairs the photo before it animates and makes the same kind of 5-second, 480p clip, so the difference between us is the way you pay.
bestphoto runs on monthly plans: a clip costs 30 credits, and the smallest plan is $14 a month for 300 credits, ten clips. Unused plan credits reset each month. You need an account, and the credits a new account starts with don't cover a clip.
Better than us if you'll animate more than a few photos every month: on that plan a clip works out to $1.40.
3. MyHeritage LiveMemory: best if your family tree is already there
LiveMemory and Deep Nostalgia both need a MyHeritage account. Every LiveMemory video has an "AI" mark in one corner, and Deep Nostalgia clips show the MyHeritage logo unless you subscribe.
After the free tries you need a paid plan. The yearly Photo plan includes 20 LiveMemory clips a year and unlimited Deep Nostalgia. MyHeritage priced it at $49.90 a year in 2024, and its help pages don't list a current price.
One Trustpilot reviewer wrote that he renewed for another year and was still "locked out of the Deep Nostalgia and Live Memory things".
Better than us if your tree and photos are already on MyHeritage, or you want the background to move as well as the face.
4. Google Photos: best for trying it at no cost
In the Google Photos app, Create, then Photo to video turns a picture into a six-second clip, which may include sound. Google watermarks the clips as AI-made, and a wide photo is cropped to a tall video.
Choose "Subtle movements": the "I'm feeling lucky" option can add dancing, confetti or balloons. Everyone gets a limited number of clips a day, and a Google AI plan adds more.
Google's help page says you need a personal Google account (work and school accounts can't use it), and the feature isn't offered in every country. Google doesn't say it repairs anything first, so upload the repaired copy.
Better than us if you want to try at no cost, or want a slightly longer clip with sound.
5. CapCut: best if you want to direct the motion
CapCut's image-to-video tool animates a still from a sentence you write about the movement you want. You sign in first and set the clip's length before it generates, though CapCut doesn't say how long a photo clip can run. Generation uses credits, and CapCut Pro is $19.99 a month in the US App Store.
One Trustpilot review of CapCut reads: "Deducted my credits but delivered NO video."
Better than us if you want to choose the motion yourself, or cut the clip into a longer video with music.
The five side by side
| Tool | Clip | Sound | Size | How you pay | Try without paying | Account | Repairs first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FixFade | 5 s | Silent | 480p | 5 credits a clip ($2.23 to $3.80), one-time packs | No (restore previews only) | Yes | Yes |
| bestphoto.ai | 5 s | Silent | 480p | 30 credits a clip, plans from $14 a month | No | Yes | Yes |
| MyHeritage LiveMemory | 6 s | Not stated | Not stated | Yearly Photo plan, 20 clips a year | A few clips | Yes | Sharpens faces (Deep Nostalgia) |
| Google Photos | 6 s | May include sound | Not stated | Daily limit, more with a Google AI plan | Yes, a few a day | Yes (Google) | Not stated |
| CapCut | You set it | Add it in editing | Not stated | Credits; Pro $19.99 a month | Varies by account | Yes | Not stated |
Scroll sideways for every column.
Which one to use
If the photo has cracks, stains or fading, use a tool that repairs before it animates: FixFade, or bestphoto.ai if you'll make clips every month. If the photo is clean and you want to try without paying, use Google Photos. If your family tree is on MyHeritage, use LiveMemory there.
Whichever you pick, share the repaired copy and keep the original scan. If you only need the repair and no motion, see the best photo restoration software and apps.