Apps for keeping a loved one's stories and voice: the main types

Updated 18 October 2026 · 2 min read

Apps that promise to keep something of a person come in a few distinct kinds. Each keeps a different part: the facts, the face, the way of talking or the voice. Knowing which you want makes choosing easy.

1. Story and memory books

These send a parent a question each week by email or app. Their written answers, sometimes with photos, become a book at the end of the year.

• Good at: getting stories written down; a beautiful object to keep.
• Less good at: older parents who don't like typing; nothing you can ask later.

2. Recorded video interviews

A person answers many questions on camera. Later, viewers ask a question and the system plays the recorded answer that fits best.

• Good at: their real face and voice, never invented words.
• Less good at: anything not recorded; often needs a session in a studio or a long setup.

3. Conversational AI copies

An AI model learns from the person's answers, writing, chats and memories, and answers new questions in their style. Some, like OtherMy, let several family members add what they remember.

• Good at: answering new questions the way they would; growing over time; spoken answers for parents who don't type.
• Less good at: it can be wrong, so a good one says when it doesn't know and is honest that it is a copy.

4. Voice tools

A synthetic voice made from someone's recordings, used to read text or answers aloud. Usually part of a bigger app rather than on its own.

• Good at: the sound of a person, which can matter more than anything else.
• Less good at: consent is essential, and the voice is only as good as the recordings.

5. General digital legacy services

Password vaults, letters to be sent after death, account instructions. Important, but about passing things on rather than keeping a person's way of talking. See digital legacy vs interactive memory.

Questions to ask before you choose

1. Can I download everything, and delete it?
2. Is my data used to train AI models, or sold?
3. Can my parent answer by talking, not only typing?
4. Can my brothers and sisters add to it?
5. How is a voice made, and with whose consent?
6. Who controls it after a death?
7. What happens if the company closes?
8. Does it say clearly that it is not the person?

Where OtherMy fits

OtherMy is a conversational copy with voice: you or your parent answer questions by typing or talking, add memories, recordings and real chats, invite up to five family members, and talk with the copy, with Premium in their own voice. Everything can be downloaded and deleted, nothing trains public models, and guardians you choose decide what happens later. It is honest about being a copy, because that is what it is.