Questions

No. No one can be replaced or brought back, and we do not try. ToldForward keeps what a person chose to share during their life, exactly as they said it, and helps the people they named find it.

No. The guide never speaks as the person. Their own words appear in first person, only as exact quotes with the date they said them. Everything else the guide says speaks about them, in third person, and it always identifies itself as AI.

It is built not to. Their words appear only as exact quotes, copied from their record, never written by the AI, and the guide never invents an opinion in their name. Its own short sentences around the quotes are checked against the record, though like any AI it can occasionally get a detail wrong, which is why every quote is shown word for word with its date. Each answer is labeled: Recorded, when it comes from their own words; Related, when it offers things they said on a nearby subject; or Unknown, when their record holds no answer.

Because we do not imitate people. Text keeps the focus on what someone actually thought. It also means no one, including family, can obtain material from us to recreate a person's voice or face.

Family tree sites record names and dates, and many are searchable by anyone. Your record is never searchable and is visible only to you while you are living. With Archive Membership, your Archive goes further than dates: it keeps your stories, values and reasoning, in your own words.

Yes. Every screen is available in English, Spanish, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic, French, Korean, Ukrainian, German, Haitian Creole and Portuguese. Arabic is shown right to left.

Never. Your record is kept only in the language and form in which you gave it. If someone you name reads in another language, they see your original words first, with a translation beneath, clearly labeled as translated for display. Translations are never saved into your record.

The conversational guide uses AI to understand questions and find the right passages in a record. Your record itself is written by you, not by AI.

While you are living, only you, and a helper if you choose one, for what they help you with. After your passing, only the people you named, and only after the waiting period. Each of them receives your whole record. A small number of our staff can access records to operate the service; every time anyone other than you reads your record, it is logged.

No. A record can only be created by the person it is about, for themselves, while they are living. Nobody else can start one or add to one.

No. We accept only your own words. Even with good intentions, building something from another person's private life without their consent is not something we do. Your own writing is welcome.

No. We never receive your voice. If you would rather speak than type, your phone's or computer's own dictation turns your words into text before anything reaches us.

Never.

Only if you choose to allow it, through a separate opt-in that you can withdraw. If you never opt in, your record is never used for training. Please know that once a model has learned from data, that learning cannot be fully removed, which is why we ask separately.

Yes, at any time while you are living, in full.

Your record is encrypted in transit and at rest, access is limited to specific roles, and every time anyone other than you reads your record, it is logged. We describe our security plainly and do not make promises we cannot keep.

Your stories naturally include other people, and the people you name will read what you say about them. Your record is yours: you can edit or delete anything in it while you are living. The guide always presents what you said about others as your account, not as fact.

No sooner than 6 months after your passing is confirmed, for the chat and for the copies of your record. You may set a longer wait, for everyone or for particular people.

No. The 6 months is a minimum we never waive, for anyone.

No. Nothing is shared before the waiting period ends: not the chat, not the copies of your record, and not any part of it.

A trustee you name reports it, with a death certificate, or an obituary together with a letter from the funeral home, and we review it. Nothing happens automatically: we tell you first, and you have 7 days to stop a mistaken report. The waiting period also means that, in the rare case of an error, there is ample time to correct it before anything opens.

You do. You name the people who receive your record and may use the guide, and a trustee who confirms your passing. No one can override your choices, except where the law requires it.

It can help. The people you name here receive your record on your own instructions, but a short clause in your will or trust makes your wishes clear to your executor. If your will says something different, the law decides; in Pennsylvania, the choices you make here generally come first. Keep the two consistent. We offer a model clause, which is not legal advice, for you to take to your own attorney.

Everyone with an account, you and everyone you designate, must already be 18 or older, and no one under 18 uses the conversational guide.

No. Your words are kept exactly as you left them.

You decide, while you are living, whether the people you name may retire it. Any person you named may also simply stop using it at any time.

You invite them while you are living, and they accept. When access opens, each person verifies their identity with official identification before their first conversation.

We have designed it with that question in mind. The waiting period, a gentle introduction before the first conversation, and a guide that speaks about the person rather than as them all help keep the experience honest. It is a way to revisit someone's words, not a substitute for grieving or for the people around you.

No. If you are struggling with grief, a counselor or grief support group can help in ways we cannot.

The guide is designed to recognize signs of distress and to point people to crisis support right away. It is not an emergency service. If you are in danger, call or text 988, or call 911.

It can share what the person said on a subject, including what they said about their own wishes for after they are gone. It does not give medical, legal or financial advice, or help arrange a funeral, burial or cremation, in anyone's name.

Yes. When access becomes available, nothing opens on its own. You choose when to begin, and we gently suggest avoiding days that may be especially hard, such as a birthday or anniversary.

About real moments in your life: turning points, people who shaped you, decisions you made and why, what you believe and how you came to believe it. The questions cover your whole life, from childhood to today, and the people and places in it.

Not at all. Write the way you talk. If you would rather speak, your phone's or computer's own dictation can type your words for you.

As long as you like. Many people answer a little at a time. Each year we invite you back to review your wishes and add to your record as your life and thinking change.

Every answer is dated, so your record shows how your thinking evolved. You can add to an answer, correct it, or remove it while you are living. A correction keeps your earlier wording with its date; removing an answer deletes it completely.

Your record is left whole to the people you name, and each of them receives all of it. If there is something you do not want them to read, you can delete it at any time while you are living. Deleting removes it completely. Editing keeps your earlier wording, with its date, as part of your record.

Yes. With Preview, you can try the guide on your own record and correct anything that does not represent you well.

Record Membership and Archive Membership are paid yearly, and either can start with a free 7-day trial. You can also pay Archive Membership ahead, up to 10 years at a time with 10 years at a lower price, adding to the time you have, up to 12 years from today. Preview and the optional Historical Deposit are added to Archive Membership and paid by you. You can cancel at any time, and there are no refunds: what you paid for keeps working until its time ends. Nothing is ever charged after your passing. Whatever Archive time you paid ahead and have left when your passing is confirmed becomes the guide's time for the people you named, at no cost to them; after it, each of them may continue on their own for a yearly fee. Everyone you named keeps their download of your record either way. See Offerings for current prices.

Only once the time you paid for has run out. Then the choice to keep talking with the guide is theirs, and so is the cost; their own copy of your record is theirs to keep whether or not they continue.

If ToldForward ever closes, every record is released early, in full and electronically. While you are living, your record goes to you alone. After your passing is confirmed, it goes to your designees; if the waiting period has not ended, their copies are held in escrow and released when it would have ended, so the wait is never shortened. Your record is kept in open formats, so it can be read without us. The guide ends when the service ends.

Everyone you name receives their own copy of your whole record when the waiting period ends, so it lasts as long as they keep it. With Archive Membership, the guide stays available while ToldForward runs and at least one of your designees chooses to continue it, and if you choose a Historical Deposit, a copy also goes to a partner library or archive. We do not promise forever; we have built it to outlast us.

Your family and/or designees already hold their copies. We give notice and, if you chose a Historical Deposit, send a copy to a partner library or archive. Then we delete your record from the service.

If you choose. With a Historical Deposit, when your record leaves ToldForward after your passing, a copy goes to a partner library or archive, which takes it into its collection under its own policies, including how long it is kept and how and when it can be read. It is an optional add-on to Archive Membership, for a one-time fee, available once your paid Archive Membership has begun, and never the default.

No. ToldForward carries out your wishes after your passing. Publishing your own story during your life is something you can always do yourself.

Your record is kept in open, widely readable formats, and we will publish the method for building the guide, so it can be rebuilt as technology changes.

Your record turns read-only, and we will remind you before anything changes. Pay again at any time to keep adding to it. 180 days after the missed payment you can no longer view it, but we do not delete it: we keep it, visible only to our staff, to carry out what you arranged for after your passing, and we try to reach you, and if we cannot, the trustee you named, to understand why. Paying again restores it.

Yes. The change takes effect when your current Archive year ends; there are no refunds. Everything you recorded in the Archive is kept, and you can still read and export it. A Historical Deposit you have already bought is honored. Archive years you paid ahead are not refunded.

In your settings, at any time, in one step, with no second sign-in. If you cannot sign in, ask us to email you a cancellation link. During a free trial you are not charged if you cancel before it ends. We confirm every cancellation by email.