Hugete is a French service for posthumous and scheduled messages: each user writes messages (text, photos, videos, audio) for their loved ones, delivered on a fixed date or after their death. Posthumous delivery is triggered by an inactivity watch (HugVeille): if the user stops responding to check-in reminders, a trusted contact (HugGuard) is asked to confirm the situation and, after a 48-hour safety delay, the messages are delivered to recipients on a private reception page (HugBox), with no account required on their side.
A posthumous message is a message — a letter, video, audio recording or set of photos — prepared during your lifetime and delivered to one or more loved ones after your death. Unlike a will, it does not settle financial or legal matters: it passes on words, memories and emotions. With a service like Hugete, the message is written today, stored confidentially, then automatically delivered to your loved ones when the time comes, thanks to an inactivity watch (HugVeille).
Why write a posthumous message while you are alive?
Nobody enjoys thinking about their own death. Yet the question many people ask is not "will I die one day?" but "what will I leave to the people I love?". A sudden death leaves no chance to say goodbye, to reassure, to explain or to forgive.
Writing a posthumous message means taking back control of that moment. It means deciding, calmly and in advance, what your loved ones will hear from you one last time — rather than leaving silence. The most common motivations:
- Saying what matters: "I love you", "I'm proud of you" — words that are sometimes hard to say out loud;
- Helping with grief: giving your loved ones one last moment with you, to read and reread;
- Passing things on: a family story, values, advice for later in life;
- Bringing peace: closing a disagreement, asking for forgiveness, freeing words held back;
- Planning ahead: leaving practical or emotional guidance for those who remain.
This is not a morbid act: it is an act of foresight, just like preparing your digital will or taking out insurance. The difference is that here you are not passing on assets, but a presence.
How can I leave a message for my loved ones after my death?
There are several ways to leave a posthumous message, each with its limits:
- A paper letter hidden in a drawer: simple, but nothing guarantees it will be found, by the right person, at the right time;
- A letter left with a notary or solicitor: reliable, but formal, costly and limited to text;
- A file on a computer or in the cloud: accessible only if someone knows your passwords — which raises other problems;
- A dedicated delivery service like Hugete: the message is stored securely and delivered automatically, without depending on your loved ones' memory or searches.
With Hugete, the process takes a few minutes: you create an account, write your message (called a Capsule for posthumous messages), optionally add photos, a video or a voice recording, then designate the recipient or recipients. The message remains editable or deletable at any time until it has been delivered. The full journey is described on the features page, and a practical writing guide is available on the blog: how to prepare messages for your loved ones.
How does automatic delivery work?
This is the central question: how can a service know you are no longer here, without outside intervention? The answer is called a "dead man's switch" — at Hugete, the inactivity watch (HugVeille). The principle, inherited from railway safety systems, is simple: as long as you show signs of life, nothing happens; if you stop responding, the mechanism triggers.
In practice, with Hugete:
- You choose a check-in frequency (for example every 30, 60 or 90 days);
- At each deadline, you receive a reminder by email, SMS or notification. A single click confirms all is well and pushes back the deadline;
- If you do not respond to successive reminders, your trusted contact (HugGuard) — someone close to you that you designated — is contacted to confirm or deny the situation;
- A 48-hour safety delay then applies, a final window during which delivery can still be cancelled;
- Only after these steps are your messages delivered to the recipients.
This double-lock system (watch + human validation + delay) makes accidental triggering highly unlikely: simply forgetting one reminder is never enough. The mechanism is explained in detail in our article what is a dead man's switch?.
How do your loved ones receive the message?
Each recipient receives a personal link to a private reception page (HugBox). They have no account to create: they open the link and discover your message, your photos and your videos. This page remains accessible for 12 months, giving everyone time to read, reread and download what you have left them.
What can a posthumous message contain?
A posthumous message does not have to be a long, solemn letter. The most common formats:
- A written letter: the most intimate format, one that can be reread endlessly;
- A video: your face, your voice, your way of being — irreplaceable for those who remain;
- An audio recording: easier to make than a video, just as moving to listen to again;
- Photos: chosen memories, sometimes unknown to your loved ones, with your comments;
- A combination: a letter accompanied by a video and a few photos, for example.
As for the content, anything is possible: words of love, memories told in your own words, advice for a child who will grow up without you, a family recipe, the story behind an heirloom, or simply "thank you". You can create a different message for each loved one — one for your partner, one for each child, one for a lifelong friend — each receiving only what is meant for them.
If you would rather schedule a message for a specific date during their lifetime — an 18th birthday, a wedding, a future Christmas — that is the related concept of the digital time capsule, also offered by Hugete.
Posthumous message, will, funeral insurance: what are the differences?
These three planning tools complement each other rather than compete. The will organises the estate, funeral insurance finances and organises the funeral, and the posthumous message passes on the intimate.
| Posthumous message | Will | Funeral insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Passes on words, memories and emotions | Organises the distribution of the estate | Finances and organises the funeral |
| No legal formality required | Legal act governed by inheritance law | Insurance contract |
| Text, video, audio, photos | Text only | Contractual clauses |
| Editable at any time, online | Amended by a new act (often via a notary) | Amended according to the contract |
| Free or a few euros per month | Free (handwritten) to several hundred euros (notarised) | Regular premiums |
| Delivered directly to designated loved ones | Executed through the estate | Paid to the funeral provider or beneficiaries |
A posthumous message therefore never replaces a will: for everything concerning your assets, online accounts or legal wishes, see our dedicated page on the digital will. On the other hand, no notarised document will ever hand your daughter a video of you speaking to her: that is precisely the role of the posthumous message.
How much does a posthumous message cost?
With Hugete, preparing your first posthumous messages is free: the basic plan lets you create 2 posthumous messages for 2 loved ones, with the inactivity watch (HugVeille), the trusted contact (HugGuard) and the reception page (HugBox) included. To go further:
- Hug Essentiel (€2.99/month) adds fixed-date messages and unlimited recipients;
- Hug Eternal (€6.99/month) makes everything unlimited and includes blockchain certification (HugCert), which provides tamper-proof, time-stamped proof that your messages exist.
The full details are on the pricing page. On the privacy side: your messages are hosted in Germany (Hetzner), in compliance with the GDPR, and nobody — not even the Hugete team — has access to their content before delivery. The technical commitments are detailed on the security page, and the most frequent questions in our FAQ.
Writing a posthumous message takes an hour, sometimes less. That is very little, compared with what those words will one day mean to the people who receive them.
Frequently asked questions
Does the recipient need a Hugete account to receive my message?
No. The recipient receives a personal link by email or SMS to their private reception page (HugBox). They open it directly, without creating an account or installing an app, and can view your message, photos and videos for 12 months. That period gives them time to come back and read the message as often as they wish, and to download the content they want to keep.
What happens if I change my mind after writing my message?
As long as the message has not been delivered, you remain in full control: you can edit it, change the recipients, adjust the check-in frequency of the watch, or delete the message permanently, at any time, from your personal space. Nothing is set in stone. Delivery only becomes irreversible once the inactivity watch (HugVeille) has triggered, validation has taken place and the 48-hour safety delay has elapsed.
Is it legal to leave a posthumous message?
Yes. A posthumous message is private correspondence, not a legal act: you are free to write personal messages and have them delivered to your loved ones. It does not replace a will and cannot organise your estate — for that, a document that complies with inheritance law remains necessary. Hugete also operates within the GDPR framework, with data hosted in Germany, at Hetzner.
What if I miss a reminder even though I am fine?
Nothing serious happens. A missed check-in first triggers new reminders by email, SMS or notification. If they go unanswered, your trusted contact (HugGuard) is contacted to verify the situation: they can confirm you are fine and stop the process. Finally, a 48-hour safety delay applies before any delivery. Simply forgetting a reminder is therefore never enough to send your messages.
Who can read my messages before they are delivered?
Nobody. Your messages are stored encrypted on servers located in Germany (Hetzner), in compliance with the GDPR. Neither the Hugete team, nor your trusted contact (HugGuard), nor your recipients have access to the content before delivery is triggered. The HugGuard is only asked to confirm your situation: they never see what you have written, nor who your messages are intended for.