This French start-up is launching an application on November 1 that allows you to record messages, videos and audios that will be sent after your death. A way to facilitate mourning, according to its founder.
Imagine receiving a voicemail from a deceased loved one. Many bereaved people dream of it. The French start-up In-Memory made it possible. This mobile application, available from November 1, allows you to program messages that are sent automatically after the death of the sender.
Christophe Marlot, founder of In-Memory, had the idea for this project after the death of his brother. “My emotional shock was reinforced by the material shock and the logistics of managing the aftermath”he says. He therefore wanted to create a versatile tool, which would allow both leaving a sentimental trace for his loved ones and anticipating the administrative procedures linked to his death.
Encrypted messaging
Concretely, the application takes the form of a messaging box, supporting text, audio, videos or even PDF files that the user wishes to transmit after their death. A concept reminiscent of the start-up Edeneo, which offered a digital safe where everyone could record the data they wanted their loved ones to inherit (family photos, access codes, last wishes, etc.).
“A friend told me of his desire to publish a posthumous book. All he needs to do is write it and schedule the sending of his manuscript to a publisher using In-Memory.enthuses Christophe Marlot. If the user does not see themselves as a writer, they can simply record a loving message for their children or give instructions to their notary regarding their estate.
“We don’t know anything about what people enter into the application”specifies Christophe Marlot. Messaging is in fact end-to-end encrypted in order to guarantee the security of users' personal, and possibly intimate, content.
The entire operation of In-Memory is based on “confident”people designated by the user and responsible for notifying the application of their death. “The triggering of messaging is instantaneous. It does not depend on a death certificate »underlines Christophe Marlot.
The In-Memory team, which currently has five people, has also planned a “advance directives” to send messages before his disappearance depending on his state of health. « Yes bill relating to the end of life is voted by the National Assembly, we can imagine that a user will communicate to a loved one their desire to receive a lethal substance in the event of serious illness via the application.Christophe Marlot projects.
Prospects for development
The application can be downloaded for free on your mobile phone, but you have to pay to enjoy In-Memory to its full potential: 1.99 euros per month (until death or termination of the subscription) to program five messages, or 6.99 euros per month for unlimited messages. And if you don't plan to succumb anytime soon, you will have to pay the modest sum of 349 euros for an unlimited lifetime subscription.
If the first results are positive, the start-up will want to organize a fundraising. “For the moment, I finance only from my own funds. Investors were interested in the principle of In-Memory, but they want to see that the product works before committing resources to it.regrets the founder. The funds will be devoted in particular to promoting the company abroad.
For the moment the application is only available in French, English and German, but the team aims to translate it into Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic within a year. “We primarily address people, so we want to expand throughout the world as quickly as possible”hopes Christophe Marlot. In-Memory is already dreaming of a long life.