People map
The people map centres on you and renders your connections plus the things that link you to them — shared memories, notes mentioning them, events you attended together. It's a force-directed picture of who is in your life and what context you share. Different from the family tree (which renders biological/marital relationships only), the people map mixes family, friends, colleagues, and any other connection in one view.
What the graph contains
| Node | Source |
|---|---|
| You (self) | The centre, always your self profile |
| Person | Each connection with at least one relationship or shared entity |
| Memory | A memory both you and the person appear in |
| Note | A note associated with the person |
| Event | An event with the person as a participant |
| Tag | Tags that group related people |
Edges:
- You–person (the direct relationship).
- Person–memory (tagged in the memory).
- Person–note (associated with the note).
- Person–event (participant).
- Person–person (mutual relationships if your records reflect them).
Centring
By default the map is self-centred — you sit in the middle, people radiate outward. You can recentre on any node:
- Click a person → see their connections from your records.
- Click a memory → see who appears in it.
This lets you explore the graph from different perspectives without losing the data — recentring is a render setting, not a navigation.
Filters
| Filter | Use |
|---|---|
| Family-group level | "Only level 1–2 people" |
| Relationship type | "Only friends" or "Only colleagues" |
| Has shared memory | "Only people I've logged memories with" |
| Date range | "People with shared activity in 2024" |
| Tag | "Only people tagged 'bookclub'" |
Group-level clustering
A useful mode: turn on cluster by family-group level. The simulation pulls level-1 people close (immediate family), level-2 next (close family), and so on outward. The visual ring structure mirrors the conceptual closeness levels.
Worked example
You have 60 people in your records:
- 6 immediate family (level 1).
- 8 close family + close friends (level 2).
- 18 extended family + good friends (level 3).
- 22 colleagues + acquaintances (level 4–5).
Open the people map with default filters:
- 60 person nodes.
- ~25 memory nodes (memories with people-tagging).
- ~12 note nodes (notes with person association).
- Hundreds of edges.
Turn on cluster by level. Concentric rings appear: 6 close to you, then 8, then 18, then 22 — visually mapping the conceptual closeness.
You notice:
- One immediate-family member has only 1 memory edge — gap to fill.
- A "colleague" you also tagged in 5 memories is probably closer than level-5; reassign to level-3.
- A handful of memories cluster around your wedding with 8 friends — the wedding "supergroup" of close-friends-of-the-day.
What the people map adds beyond the family tree
- Mixes professional + family. The family tree filters to family relationships; the people map shows everyone.
- Surfaces shared context. A name without memories is a stale contact; the map distinguishes active relationships from records that have decayed.
- Reveals invisible groups. Tag-clustering reveals groups (book club, weekly Monday game, friends-from-grad-school) that aren't in any explicit relationship type.
Performance
| Person count | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Up to 100 | Smooth |
| 100–250 | Slows to settle; usable with filtering |
| 250+ | Filter by level or relationship type |
The full graph rarely needs to render everyone — most exploration happens with level + date filters applied.
Interactivity
Standard map controls — pan, zoom, click, drag, right-click. Plus:
- "Path to X" — given two nodes, highlight the shortest path of relationships between them.
- "People in common with X" — given a person, highlight everyone who shares memories, notes, or events with them.
These power-user features are tucked behind the right-click menu.
What the people map is not
- Not LinkedIn. No profiles you don't own, no public following, no recommendations.
- Not auto-built from address book. The map renders person records you've created; it doesn't scrape your contacts.
- Not real-time. The graph reflects your records at this moment; nothing live-updates beyond Firestore snapshot.
- Not a partner-shared view. Each LifeWell user's people map is their own.
Privacy
The map is yours alone:
- Per-account, private.
- Connections you have don't see your people map — they see your data through their own perspective.
- Exports are local.
Frequently asked
Why does my brother appear with only 1 edge? You haven't tagged him in many memories or notes. Edges in the map come from typed associations — tag people you care about in your memories and notes for a richer graph.
Can I see my partner's people map? No — even at the highest data-sharing level, the map is each user's private rendering of their data. You'd see their entities (memories, notes), not their map.
Can I export the people map for genealogy software? JSON export gives the raw graph. GEDCOM export (specific to genealogy software) is on the roadmap.
Why are some people in the map who aren't in my contacts app? Person records in LifeWell are not synced to your device contacts unless you explicitly enable contacts sync. Records can be LifeWell-only.
Where to read next
- Family tree — biological/marital relationships only.
- Connections — verified connection management.
- Memory maps — memory-centred lens.
- Maps overview — all map types.
Last updated: 2026-05-11 Author: Ahsan Mahmood