Questions families ask

Yes. Start their film, share the link and collect as many messages as you'd like before paying anything. You pay $1,200 only when you're ready for our studio to begin. No credit card is needed to start, and their page stays available for as long as Dearly operates.

Most people worry about this, so we built everything around it. There's no app. Your people tap the link and record from their phone in a couple of minutes, with gentle questions to guide them. And our studio shapes whatever comes in into a complete story.

Yes. You never touch editing software. If you can send a text, you can do this. We handle all of the production, and a real person is always a reply away.

Yes. Once everyone has contributed and you ask us to begin, most films arrive the next day. Richer stories can take up to three days, and you choose when our studio begins.

No app. Just a supported browser and a quick verification code sent to their email. They open the family link to record or upload a message, add photos, or share home video.

Everyone sees a few gentle questions with the link: how they met, a moment they'll never forget, what they learned, a story that makes them laugh, and what they would say now. No preparation needed.

One to five minutes is a helpful guide. Each message can be up to ten minutes.

There's no limit. Five voices or five hundred. Films find their fullest shape around twenty or more people, so share the link generously. We'll take it from there.

Yes. Anyone with the family link can verify their email and add photos or home video alongside their message. Organizers choose what to include, and our studio places those memories in the film. A real person reviews the film before delivery.

It depends on how many voices join. With twenty or more people, films often run twenty minutes or longer: a full portrait, with a beginning, a middle and an end.

No. Your family's voices and memories are the heart of the film. A real person reviews and finishes every film before delivery, bringing every message together into one film for your family to keep.

Every film comes with a page for their life: the film, the shorter film for the service, their story, the things they loved and the words everyone shared. A real person reviews every page before it is shared, and you decide who can see it.

Alongside the full film, we make a shorter cut that is easy to show on the day, at a service, a gathering or a family dinner. Both are yours to watch, download and keep.

Tell us, and we'll remake it as many times as you like. If you still don't love it, we'll refund you in full, and you keep everything we made. That is the Dearly Promise.

You invite people to share their memories, and we take care of everything else. A real person finishes every film, you can ask for revisions, and you can download the finished film to keep, along with a page for their life.

Yes. One flat price, tax included. No subscriptions, no upsells and no per-person fees. It covers a film finished by a real person, yours to download and keep, and a page for their life. And the Dearly Promise means you'll love it, or we'll remake it or refund you in full.

No family is ever turned away. Every family receives the same film. What changes is when our studio makes it. When a family pays the full $1,200, our studio begins right away, and most films arrive the next day. For every $100 less, a film waits about one more week on our standby list, up to about twelve weeks for a film that is complimentary. You can pay more at any time to move up the list. Standby times are estimates, not guarantees. If cost is the only thing standing in your way, write to us at care@dearly.co, and we'll make it work.

Yes. The person who started the film, or anyone who has already added a message, can cover the $1,200 flat price.

Where available, you can pay over time with Affirm, subject to approval. You can also arrange a lower price and wait a little longer on our standby list.

You can see your own messages after verifying your email. The organizers can see all messages. After delivery, the messages in the film appear on the family page under its viewing setting. Messages left out stay private to their sender and the organizers. Please share the family link only with people you trust.

Yes, until our studio begins. After that, write to care@dearly.co and we'll take care of it.

Write to care@dearly.co to request the original uploaded clips. They are not part of the finished film download. Your film stays available to watch and download for as long as Dearly operates. You can download a copy at any time.

Late messages are welcome. Once they contribute, the organizer can request a new version at no extra cost.

Yes. Your film stays available to watch and download for as long as Dearly operates. You can download a copy at any time.

Everyone who records a message has a real tree planted in their name. After the film is delivered, we email them their tree.