Keen
Get Keen
An app to remember names and faces, on Android
Choose a name app that lets you practise recalling a name from a face, rather than only storing contact notes. Keen offers names-and-faces practice on Android; repeat the name and link it to a picture when meeting someone in real life.
Search for an app to remember names and many of the apps you find are for iPhone only. If you use Android, the choice is smaller. Here is what the two kinds of name apps do, what to look for, and how Keen trains names and faces on Android.
What are the two kinds of name apps?
1. Note-keepers: look a name up later
You save each person you meet with a photo and a note: "Sam, Lisa's brother, cycles to work." Before the next party you scroll through. This helps when you meet the same people again and have a minute to prepare. You do not need a special app for it: the notes field in your phone's own contacts app does the same job.
2. Practice apps: catch the name in the first place
Names are easy to lose in the first few seconds, when you are thinking about what to say next. A practice app trains the habit that fixes that: hear the name, say it back, link it to the face, and recall it later. Some practice apps quiz you on people you add yourself. NameMemory, for example, is on Android and iPhone and uses your own list with spaced repetition (NameMemory). Keen gives you new practice faces every time, so there is nothing to type in.
The two kinds work well together: practice so the name goes in, and a note so you can check it later.
What should you look for in a name app?
- Recall the next day, not only now. Remembering a name ten seconds later is easy. The next day is what counts, so a good app asks again later.
- Faces, not just a word list. In real life you see a face and need the name. Practise it that way round: face first, then the name.
- A method, not only a quiz. A quiz on its own only checks you. Look for an app that shows you how: say it back, pick one feature, make a silly picture.
- Short and calm. A few minutes a day you will keep doing beats a long session you skip. Keen's games have a no-timer mode.
- Your data stays yours. A note-keeper holds details about real people. Check that you can delete them and that there are no ads tracking you.
How can you practise names and faces in Keen?
- Learn the method once. Three short cards: say the name back, notice one feature, make a picture that joins them. The full method is in our guide on how to remember names.
- Meet five people at a party. Each has a drawn face, a name and one small fact, such as "keeps bees on the roof". A tip shows you how to make that name stick.
- Take a short break. Twenty seconds, so you are not just repeating what you saw.
- Who's this? The faces come back in a new order and you pick each name from four choices, with the fact as a clue.
- Again tomorrow. The next day Keen asks about the same people. A miss still helps the name stick for next time.
The names lesson is part of ten calm minutes a day for adults 40 and over, with other lessons for shopping lists, PINs and where you put your keys. Keen shows your real-life scores first, including how many names you still knew the next day. The yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial.
Want to see where you start? Try the free memory test in your browser (about three minutes, no sign-up).
Questions
Is there an Android app to help remember names?
Yes. Many name apps are iPhone only, but a few are on Android. Keen is an Android app with a names and faces lesson: you meet five people at a party, recall their names, and are asked about them again the next day.
Should I use a note-keeping app or a practice app?
A note-keeping app helps you look up someone you already met. A practice app trains the habit of catching names in the first place. You can use both: the notes field in the phone's contacts app, plus a few minutes of practice.
Does Keen store the people I meet in real life?
No. Keen never asks about real people. The lesson uses made-up people with drawn faces, and saves only those, so it can ask about them tomorrow. For real people, the notes field in your contacts app works well.
Why can I remember faces but not names?
A face is full of detail you can see, so it sticks without effort. A name is just a sound with nothing to hang on, and it arrives while you are busy saying hello. The fix is to give the name something to hang on: say it back, then turn it into a picture linked to one feature of the face. Our 5-step method shows how.
Is Keen free?
Your first day's plan is free, with no card. After that Keen needs Premium: 7.99 US dollars a month, 39.99 US dollars a year with a 7-day free trial, or 99.99 US dollars once. Cancel any time in Google Play.
Can an app stop me forgetting names because of age or illness?
No app can promise that. Keen is practice for everyday memory, not a medical device. Forgetting a name now and then is common, and the NHS advises seeing a GP if memory problems affect your daily life (NHS: memory loss).
Is there an app to practice remembering names?
Yes. Practice apps give you new names and faces to learn, then test you later. In Keen you meet five made-up people at a party, recall their names, and are asked again the next day, so you practise the part that usually fails: keeping a name overnight.
Try Keen on Android
Keen is on Google Play for Android. Still choosing? See our comparison of brain training apps for adults.