Support
Help for Camstalgia on iPhone. Until the update that renames it, the app is called Throwback on your iPhone and on the App Store.
What you need
- An iPhone with iOS 15 or later.
- Expert mode needs iOS 18 or later. Its lenses, 4K video and 48 MP photos depend on your iPhone.
Camstalgia is made for iPhone. In the app, the old phones are shown as “!Phone”, “!Phone 4” and so on.
Pick a different phone
- Tap the phone’s name at the top of the camera. On the 2011 and 2012 phones it opens a small panel first; tap Phone there. Then pick any of the 14 phones from 2007 to 2019.
- In Expert mode’s Basic screen, tap the phone’s name at the top too, or swipe sideways across the picture to change the look.
- In Expert mode’s Advanced screen, pick one under LOOK › PHONE. The phone list, subscription and restore are under SETUP.
Creative or Technical
Technical follows each phone’s own processing, based on lab tests and reviews from the time, without exaggerating it. Creative turns each year’s look up so it’s unmistakable. Switch with the Creative and Technical buttons near the top of the phone list (in Expert mode’s Advanced screen: LOOK › PROCESSING).
Why some photos look worse than your normal camera
That’s the point. The early phones had tiny sensors, little processing and a narrow range, so whites burn out and dim rooms get grainy. Up to the 2016 phone, Camstalgia shoots through your iPhone’s ultra-wide camera if it has one, because it is the closer match to those small sensors.
Real speed
Real speed makes you wait between shots as long as the old phones did. It’s off unless you turn it on in the phone list (in Expert mode’s Advanced screen: SETUP › Real speed). Even with it off, the shutter waits a moment while the last photo is still being developed.
The roll and your photo library
- Every photo and video is kept in the app’s roll, in the style of the phone’s year. Swipe between photos, swipe down to close, pinch or double-tap to zoom. The roll comes with All Phones.
- With Photos access on, new photos and videos are also saved to your photo library. To turn it on, open the Settings app, then Throwback › Photos (on iOS 18 or later: Apps › Throwback › Photos).
- Photos taken before that are only in the app’s roll. Open one there and use Share › Save Image (or Save Video).
- If you delete the app, the copies in your photo library stay. The app’s own roll, with its albums and edits, is deleted with the app.
Plans and purchases
- Your first 10 photos or videos are free, with any phone and in Expert mode. Photos and videos count together.
- Taking an 11th, or opening the roll, brings up the All Phones subscription screen. It then stays until you subscribe or restore, even if you had free photos left. Reinstalling the app doesn’t restart the free photos.
- All Phones costs $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year in the US; the app shows the price in your country. You get every phone, unlimited photos and videos, and the app’s roll. There is no free trial.
- It renews automatically at the same price unless you turn it off at least 24 hours before the end of the current month or year. It isn’t shared through Family Sharing.
Cancel or change your plan
Open Settings › your name › Subscriptions › Throwback, or tap Manage Subscription in the app’s phone list. Subscribers can also switch between Yearly and Monthly in the phone list; the switch starts at the next renewal. You keep All Phones until the end of the month or year you have paid for. Photos you have taken stay in your photo library.
Restore a purchase
Sign in with the same Apple Account you bought with, then tap Restore Purchases in the phone list or on the subscription screen. Often it comes back by itself. Refunds are handled by Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.
Location tags
Only the phones from 2008 on tag photos, as they did back then. The 2007 phone and Expert mode never tag. To stop location tags, open the Settings app, then Throwback › Location and choose Never (on iOS 18 or later: Apps › Throwback › Location). The Privacy Policy says what happens with the location.
Legal notice for customers in Japan
Information required by Japan’s Act on Specified Commercial Transactions (特定商取引法に基づく表記) for purchases made in the app through the App Store.
- Seller: Sebastian Škoić s.p.
- Address: Šturmova ulica 7A, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Contact: support@camstalgia.com. A phone number is provided without delay on request.
- Price: the amount shown on the purchase screen in the app, consumption tax included. Internet connection charges are your own.
- Payment: charged by Apple to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. All Phones then renews automatically every month or year until you cancel. There is no free trial.
- Delivery: the purchase is available as soon as it is complete.
- Cancellation and refunds: digital purchases can’t be returned. You can cancel a subscription in your Apple Account settings at any time, up to 24 hours before the current period ends; it then stays available until the end of the period already paid for. Refund requests are handled by Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.
- Requirements: an iPhone with iOS 15 or later; Expert mode needs iOS 18 or later.
Good to know
Camstalgia is not affiliated with Apple. Your photos are developed on your iPhone and never uploaded: see the Privacy Policy.