Year-in-review examples: what to include for your kind of app

By Lucency, the makers of Yearcap · Updated November 2, 2026

The best year-in-review stories show a handful of numbers that only make sense for that app. Below are the stats, favorites and personas that work for nine kinds of apps, with the CSV columns to export for each.

What the well-known recaps have in common

Spotify’s yearly recap, Duolingo’s Year in Review, Strava’s Year in Sport and Goodreads’ Year in Books look different, but they are built from the same few parts:

A hello. The user’s name and the year, so it feels made for them.
One huge number. Minutes listened, lessons done, kilometers. Shown big, alone on its slide.
A rank. “Top 2% of listeners.” Only when it flatters.
Their favorites. Top artist, top language, top sport, top genre.
Their year as a shape. A month-by-month chart and their busiest month.
A persona. A short label that tells them who they were this year.
A summary card sized for an Instagram or TikTok story, with the app’s name on it.

You don’t need every part. A hello, two big numbers, a favorite, the year chart and a summary card already make a story worth sharing.

Examples by kind of app

Jump to: running and cycling, strength training, reading and books, language learning, habit trackers, meditation and sleep, notes, journaling and writing, music practice and podcasts, budgeting and money.

Running and cycling

Stats: Distance (km or miles), Number of runs or rides, Longest single run, Elevation climbed, Active days.
Favorite: Favorite run type (easy, long run, intervals) or time of day.
Personas: The Marathoner, The Early Bird, The Hill Hunter.
A line that works: “You climbed 4,519 m. That’s half of Everest, on foot.”

Columns: user_id, first_name, km_run, runs, longest_run_km, elevation_m, run_types, km_jan … km_dec · download a sample CSV

Strength training

Stats: Workouts, Total weight lifted, Sets logged, Personal records.
Favorite: Top lifts as a list, or favorite training day.
Personas: The Iron Regular, The Record Breaker, The Volume King.
A line that works: “You lifted 656,012 kg. That’s about 130 elephants.”

Columns: user_id, first_name, workouts, total_kg_lifted, sets_logged, personal_records, top_lifts, workouts_jan … workouts_dec · download a sample CSV

Reading and books

Stats: Books finished, Pages read, Longest reading streak, Highlights saved.
Favorite: Top genres as a list.
Personas: The Bookworm, The Highlighter, The Genre Hopper.
A line that works: “You read 9,789 pages. That’s more than 30 good-sized novels.”

Columns: user_id, first_name, books_finished, pages_read, reading_streak_days, highlights_saved, top_genres, books_jan … books_dec · download a sample CSV

Language learning

Stats: Lessons done, Words learned, Minutes practiced, Best streak.
Favorite: Languages studied, ranked by lessons.
Personas: The Polyglot, The Streak Keeper, The Word Collector.
A line that works: “You learned 2,365 words. That’s six new words a day, every day.”

Columns: user_id, first_name, lessons_done, words_learned, minutes_practiced, best_streak_days, languages, lessons_jan … lessons_dec · download a sample CSV

Habit trackers

Stats: Check-ins, Longest streak, Perfect days (every habit done), Habits tracked.
Favorite: Most-kept habits as a list.
Personas: The Unbreakable, The Morning Person, The Perfectionist.
A line that works: “You had 67 perfect days. That’s more than two months of doing it all.”

Columns: user_id, first_name, check_ins, longest_streak_days, perfect_days, habits_tracked, top_habits, check_ins_jan … check_ins_dec · download a sample CSV

Meditation and sleep

Stats: Minutes meditated, Sessions, Longest session, Mindful days.
Favorite: Top session types, or favorite teacher.
Personas: The Calm One, The Night Sitter, The Deep Diver.
A line that works: “You meditated for 221 minutes. That’s almost four hours of being still.”

Columns: user_id, first_name, minutes_meditated, sessions, longest_session_min, mindful_days, top_sessions, minutes_jan … minutes_dec · download a sample CSV

Notes, journaling and writing

Stats: Notes written, Words written, Longest writing streak, Days with an entry.
Favorite: Most-used tags as a list.
Personas: The Novelist, The Archivist, The Daily Diarist.
A line that works: “You wrote 74,927 words. That’s the length of a novel.”

Columns: user_id, first_name, notes_written, words_written, longest_streak_days, top_tag, notes_jan … notes_dec · download a sample CSV

Music practice and podcasts

Stats: Minutes practiced or listened, Sessions, Longest session, Pieces or shows started.
Favorite: Top pieces, instruments or shows as a list.
Personas: The Practicer, The Binge Listener, The Metronome.
A line that works: “You practiced for 92 hours. That’s about four full days at the keys.”

Columns: user_id, first_name, minutes_practiced, sessions, longest_session_min, top_pieces, minutes_jan … minutes_dec

Budgeting and money

Stats: Transactions tracked, Days under budget, Goals reached, Days in a row checking in.
Favorite: Most-tracked category.
Personas: The Planner, The Goal Getter, The Steady Saver.
A line that works: “You stayed under budget on 241 days. That’s two out of every three.”

Leave out balances, income and amounts spent. People share effort happily; they don’t share their bank statement.

Columns: user_id, first_name, transactions, days_under_budget, goals_reached, checkin_streak_days, top_category, transactions_jan … transactions_dec

Turn a number into a picture

Raw totals are hard to feel. Compare them to something everyone knows, and keep the comparison honest:

Distance: city to city, or laps around a well-known landmark.
Time: full days, movies, or flights (“92 hours: four days straight”).
Words and pages: novels or the height of a stack of books.
Weight lifted: cars, elephants, whales. Check the math once; people will.

What to leave out

Anything about body weight, health conditions or money lost.
Numbers your users can’t picture, like points or XP they never see in the app.
Stats that are low for most people. If the median user has 2 of something, skip it, or only show it to the top quarter.
Your company’s numbers. “We shipped 40 features” belongs in a blog post, not in someone’s personal story.

Once you know your stats, the step-by-step guide covers exporting the file and sending the stories. Or drop your CSV into Yearcap and watch the story build itself.

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