Content guide
What to include in a Preserve
A Preserve is made of moments — the things you actually remember about a person, and the traces of them you already have on your phone. You don't need polished writing, and you don't need everything on this page. One real moment is a beginning. Use this as a menu, not a checklist.
Start with one specific moment
Not a summary of who they are. One thing that happened. A specific moment beats an eloquent paragraph every time, because only the specific thing could have happened to the two of you.
- The time they showed up when they didn't have to
- Something they always say, in the exact words they say it
- A small ritual between you — the drive, the call, the seat at the table
- A moment you felt safe, or proud, or completely known
The details that make it unmistakable
Details do the work that adjectives can't. A kind, generous, wonderful person could be anyone. The one who hums while cooking and answers the phone the same way every time could only be them.
- A habit, a phrase, or a laugh you'd recognize anywhere
- What a room feels like when they walk into it
- The thing they make, fix, cook, or give away
- A place that belongs to the two of you
Photos and videos you already have
Look in your camera roll before you look for anything better. Candid beats professional, and one photo can carry a whole moment.
- The blurry photo you kept anyway
- A photo from a different decade of their life
- Them in their element: teaching, cooking, building, laughing
- A short clip from an everyday moment, not just an event
Voice, in your words or theirs
Voice carries what text can't. It's the part people replay years later.
- Ten seconds of you saying the thing out loud
- A voice note answering one of the prompts, unedited
- An old voicemail or recording you already have
- A song that means something between you
Messages and small artifacts
Some of the best material was never made to be kept. It already exists.
- A text thread you never deleted
- A note, a card, a recipe in their handwriting
- A ticket, a receipt, a photo of an object that only matters to you two
- Something they wrote to you a long time ago
What you'd want them to know
If you want to say something directly, keep it short and true. Write to them, not about them — one sentence you mean is enough, and it lands harder than a page of tribute.
- The thing you've never quite said out loud
- A thank-you for something that seemed small to them
- Something of theirs you carry, in your own words
- One sentence, if that's all you have
A quiet through-line
You don't have to build a structure. Preserve shapes what you bring into something that reads well. If you want to guide it, notice which two or three things keep reappearing in what you've gathered — that's already the story, whether it comes from one voice or several.
- Open with the moment you'd tell a stranger first
- Let their own words appear if you have them
- End with the thing you most want them to keep
- Leave out anything you added only to fill space
Camilamy twin sister 
Errolmy dad 
Sun-heemy mom 
Vikmy chemistry teacher 
XinyiGirlfriend 
Lolamy grandmother 
Wenmy husband 
Margiemy mom 
Raymy dad
Don't just read about it. Start.
Preserve helps you collect the stories, voice, and lessons of the people who shape your life — whether they're still with you or not.
Preserve someone you love →