What is AFTERLINE?
A real phone number for someone who has died. The people the family approves can call it, text it or start a video call. An AI replica answers in their voice, at the hours they were usually free.
Is it really them?
No. It is an AI replica: software that speaks in a copy of their voice, built from recordings and from what the family tells us. We say so in plain words before we build anything, and the contact is saved as their name followed by AFTERLINE.
Why does it not always pick up?
Because they did not either. The number follows the routine the family describes: work, the market, church, sleep. Call at ten on a Tuesday morning and you get voicemail. Call in the evening and it usually answers.
Who can call it?
Only the people the family approves, recognised by their phone numbers. Anyone else who calls or texts gets a short message, in a neutral voice, saying this is a private memorial number. They never hear the replica.
Will it ever call or message me first?
No. It only answers when you call or text. There are no reminders, no notifications and nothing that asks you to come back.
How does it end?
With a Last Call. When the family is ready, they call one final time to say goodbye. After that the voice, the recordings, the conversations and everything it remembered are deleted. This cannot be undone.
What do you need to set one up?
Four things: the family’s consent, a few minutes of recordings of their voice, a conversation with you about how they spoke and what they cared about, and their usual weekly routine.
Who has to agree?
The spouse, the parents and the children. They agree to the use of the person’s image, voice and data, and we record this before the number is switched on. Each person who will call also agrees for themselves.
Can one person stop it?
Yes. Any approved family member can pause the number alone, at once, without asking the others.
Does it know things we did not tell it?
No. It knows what the family told us and what was said in earlier calls and texts. Asked about anything else, it says it does not remember. It does not make up facts about living people.
Does it remember our calls?
Yes, for each caller separately. What you said last week, it still knows next week. What one person says is not passed on to another.
Is there an app?
The app is only for setting the number up and managing it. It is not in the stores yet: leave an email and we will write when it is. Calling and texting never need an app.
What does it cost?
€149 once to set it up, then €19 a month while the number is working. These are planned prices. We are not open yet, and nothing is charged today. You can cancel in one step.
Is this grief support?
No. It is a way to keep talking, and it does not replace the people around you. Every page links to grief support run by real people.
What happens to what we give you?
It is used to build and run that one number and for nothing else. It is not sold, not used for advertising and not used to build a number for anyone else. The Last Call deletes it.