HereAfter AI is shutting down: how to get your recordings back, and what to use next

What we verified, and what we could not

Archived copies of the hereafter.ai home page from July 1 and July 13, 2026 (Internet Archive) carry this notice: "It's been an honor to help families record their memories for loved ones, but unfortunately HereAfter is shutting down. If you already have an account and want to request your life story recordings, email support@hereafter.ai." The funeral-industry outlet Obitley reported the shutdown on July 18, 2026.

The notice does not say when the service will stop, whether there is a deadline for requests, what format recordings will arrive in, or what happens to a deceased person's account. We found no other statement from the company. On October 25, 2026 the hereafter.ai home page and its pricing and FAQ pages returned "page not found". The address app.hereafter.ai still loaded a sign-in page. We did not test an account, and we cannot tell you whether anyone is answering support email today.

Step 1: Find the account and try to sign in

Search the inbox you think you used for "HereAfter" to find the email address on the account. Receipts and card statements show it too. If you cannot find it, check any other address you use for subscriptions.

If you can still sign in at app.hereafter.ai, download anything the app offers before you write to support. The archived pricing page from January 2026 listed full MP3 downloads only on the Unlimited plan, so on the other plans there may be nothing to download yourself.

Step 2: Ask support for everything, in writing

Write from the email address on the account, to support@hereafter.ai. Ask for: the audio file of every recording; the transcript of each, if one exists; the question that prompted each answer; any photos you attached; and, if you want it, the list of people you invited. Say that you need the original files, not a link to play them.

A plain request works: "I have an account under this email address. Please send me every recording, transcript, question and photo in the account, in the original file formats, and tell me the format and how to download them. Please confirm you received this." Keep every reply. Follow up after about a week, politely.

Be careful with anyone who contacts you offering to recover the recordings for a fee. We have no evidence of this happening, but a shutdown is the kind of moment when it does. The only route the company named is its own email address.

Step 3: Know what format to expect, and keep it as it arrives

We do not know what format HereAfter will send. MP3 is the audio format its archived pricing page named. Ask for the original files, and ask for any text as plain text or PDF.

When files arrive, copy them before you open anything. Keep the original download or zip untouched in one place, and do your sorting in a copy. Rename the copies so a stranger could understand them: the person's name, the date, and the question, for example "Grandma-Rose_2025-03-02_first-job.mp3". Keep the transcript beside its audio, and save the emails from support in the same folder.

Step 4: Store it so it outlasts this

Use the common 3-2-1 approach: three copies, on two different kinds of storage, with one somewhere other than your home. In practice that can be your computer, an external drive, and a cloud folder you control. Give a second family member access to the folder, so the recordings do not live behind one person's login.

Play each file for a few seconds, start and end, and check that the count matches what you were sent. A backup you have never opened is a guess. Come back once a year and check again, because drives fail quietly.

If the person who made the recordings has died

This is the hardest case, and HereAfter's notice does not cover it. If you can open the person's email, you may be able to find the account address and write to support from it. If you cannot, write from your own address, explain that the account holder has died, say who you are in relation to them, and ask what support needs from you. Send only what they ask for; do not volunteer identity documents by email without a reply that asks for them.

Whether the company will release a deceased person's recordings is theirs to decide, and we cannot promise that it will. If an estate is being settled, tell the executor that these recordings exist, and ask an estate attorney how digital accounts are handled where you live. This page is not legal advice.

Other places to look while you wait: old phones and computers, emails HereAfter sent, any recordings shared with relatives, and the person's own devices. Ask family whether anyone saved files.

What to use next, if you want something

You may not need anything. Recovered recordings kept safely on drives you control are a complete answer, and no company has to survive for them to last. If you do want a new place to keep adding to, these are the options we looked at, with what each company says about itself.

Afterlife AI is the closest in kind. Its own page describes a conversational "Persona" you build by answering in the first person, with voice preservation that covers playback after death. It lists a free one-time build of 25 memories, with paid plans from $14.99 a month. This is an AI product, and so was HereAfter: if you choose one, ask how it ends, what you can export, and what happens if the company is sold or closes. Obitley also reported StoryFile's Chapter 11 filing in May 2024.

StoryCorps' free app lets you prepare questions, record a conversation on a phone and upload it to the StoryCorps Archive and the Library of Congress. Read their terms to see who can listen before you upload something private.

Storii records a relative's stories over ordinary phone calls, so no smartphone or internet is needed. It says you can download your recordings as an audiobook or eBook and export your answers at any time. Its pricing page showed no prices when we checked.

Remento costs $99 and includes one year, one storyteller, unlimited collaborators, and one hardcover book credit of up to 200 pages with free US shipping. Its books carry QR codes that link to the original recordings.

Storyworth sends weekly questions by email or text and prints a hardcover book after a year of answers. Its plans start at $69, and storytellers can also answer by phone, with the call transcribed into the story.

KeepSaiQ is a private place where family members record short voice reflections and add photos. It transcribes the recordings so they can be searched, and keeps them visible only to the family members you invite. Content is encrypted in transit and at rest, and is not used to train AI models. Our systems read content to transcribe it, so we do not claim end-to-end encryption. It is free to start, with apps for iPhone (iOS 17 or later) and Android (Android 9 or later) and a browser version. It is not a backup service for files you have already recovered, and it is not a replacement for HereAfter's conversations.

What KeepSaiQ does not do

KeepSaiQ does not create an AI avatar, chatbot or simulated voice of a person, living or dead. It transcribes real recordings and plays them back in the voice that made them. You will not be able to talk to a recording of someone here, and if that is what you were using HereAfter for, KeepSaiQ will not replace it.

Where others may fit better

If you want to keep having conversations with an AI version of someone, Afterlife AI is the one we found that does that, and KeepSaiQ does not. If you want a printed book, Storyworth fits better, and Remento prints one with scannable audio. If the person you want to record does not use a smartphone, Storii's phone calls are easier for them than any app. If you want a free public archive, StoryCorps fits. If you only need to keep recovered files safe, your own drives do the job and cost nothing.

Last reviewed

Reviewed October 25, 2026 by the KeepSaiQ team. Facts about other companies come from their own pages and the sources below, checked on that date. If something here is out of date, tell us at the support address on keepsaiq.com/support and we will correct it.