HELP · THE GUIDE CENTER
Help, organized by your situation.
You arrived with a situation, not a feature name — so the guides are organized that way. New here? Read "Your first hour." In the middle of something hard? The playbooks were written for exactly that.
Can't find your answer, found a bug, or need a human? Write to [email protected] — a person reads every message. Mention accessibility, privacy, or a directory correction and it reaches the right eyes first.
Start here
Your first hour, and the small set of ideas everything else builds on.
Your first hour
Create the archive, write one true memory, add one photo — and stop. An archive with one real story is already working.
5 min
What kind of archive is this?
For yourself, a parent, a couple, a whole family, a community elder — living, ill, or remembered. How DearestEllie adapts to each.
6 min
The shape of an archive
Memories, chapters, a timeline, detail cards, letters, things they loved — what each part is for, with one good example each.
7 min
Who can see what
The five visibility levels in plain words, why everything starts private, and the three promises that never change.
6 min
A tour of Present Mode
Build Mode is where the family works; Present Mode is the archive opened for someone. Audiences change what leads.
5 min
Playbooks
Step-by-step plans for real situations — a memorial in two weeks, a new diagnosis, a scattered family.
The memorial is in two weeks
A fast, forgiving plan: open the archive today, get the invite link into every hand now, and let the organizing wait for the quiet months after.
10 min
Mom was just diagnosed with dementia
A gentle plan for the window you still have: short morning sessions, era-anchored prompts, her voice above everything, and her dignity at the center.
11 min
Dad is in hospice
Legacy pacing for a short season: ask early, keep sessions small, let one great story be enough, and know that the family's telling is the next season — not a failure.
10 min
We lost our baby
For families after NICU loss, stillbirth, or miscarriage: what an archive of a very short life can hold, why fully private is complete, and why there is no timeline at all.
8 min
Grandpa died years ago, and the memories are scattering
Reconstruction: treat every relative as a primary source, work the shoebox of photos properly, keep every version of the half-remembered stories, and build the timeline last.
11 min
I want to record my own life
A self-archive built on a weekly rhythm: one prompt a week, ordinary days over highlights, your voice on the record, and the permission to tell the true version.
9 min
Our whole family wants to do this together
The steward's operating manual: an honest approval mode, one-tap onboarding for the non-technical, memory nights, the bulldozer relative, kids through the guardian gate, and the art of celebrating contributions.
12 min
Troubleshooting
When something isn't working — uploads, invites, playback, domains, email.
My upload won't finish
A photo or video that fails or hangs is almost always a connection issue, not a lost memory. Here's how to get it through.
3 min
My video uploaded but won't play
Right after upload, a video can take a little while to become playable. The original is already safe — the playback copy is still being made.
2 min
The transcript got the words wrong
Automatic transcription mangles names, places, and beloved accents. Edit the transcript — your correction wins and sticks.
3 min
An invite link says it's expired or invalid
Invite links expire on purpose, and half-pasted links look invalid. Both have a thirty-second fix: send a fresh one.
2 min
"Aunt Rita says she never got the link"
Our number-one real-world question, and nothing is wrong with you or your aunt. Where invite links go, and how to get one into her hands.
3 min
"I submitted a memory and it vanished"
It didn't vanish — it's waiting for review. How pending, approved, aside, and needs-clarification work, and why the pause exists.
3 min
A child's contribution won't publish
A minor's memory waits for two approvals: their guardian's, then the archive's. The guardian step cannot be skipped — here's how to complete it.
3 min
I can't log in
Password resets, the spam folder, and why changing your password signs you out everywhere — on purpose.
3 min
Emails from DearestEllie aren't arriving
Reset links and notifications that never show up are almost always hiding in a folder you're not looking at. The checklist, in order.
2 min
My custom domain has been "pending" forever
DNS changes take anywhere from minutes to 48 hours, and one mistyped record stalls everything. How to check, wait, and re-verify.
4 min
My export, book, or tribute video is taking a long time
Large archives with original videos take real time to package or render. You can close the page — the work continues without you.
2 min
I accidentally changed (or ruined) a memory
Breathe. Every edit keeps the previous version in revision history — nothing was silently lost, and the old words are one restore away.
3 min
Questions, answered plainly
Including the hard ones — what happens to an archive when its steward dies, what happens if DearestEllie itself ends, and who owns the content. We would rather answer them than have you wonder.
What happens to the archive when I die?
READ THE ANSWER
What happens if DearestEllie shuts down?
READ THE ANSWER
Who legally owns the memories and photos in an archive?
READ THE ANSWER
Can other family members override my visibility choices?
READ THE ANSWER
Is my archive really private? Who can technically see it?
READ THE ANSWER
What's always free, and what do paid plans actually add?
READ THE ANSWER
Do you sell data or show ads?
READ THE ANSWER
Is the AI reading our memories?
READ THE ANSWER
Can I use DearestEllie without the AI entirely?
READ THE ANSWER
How do children contribute safely?
READ THE ANSWER
Can someone contribute without creating an account?
READ THE ANSWER
What file types can I upload, and how much storage do I get?
READ THE ANSWER
Can I import from Facebook, Google Photos, or other services?
READ THE ANSWER
Can I have more than one archive?
READ THE ANSWER
What if two people remember the same event differently?
READ THE ANSWER
How do I delete my account, and what happens to my data?
READ THE ANSWER
Is there a mobile app?
READ THE ANSWER
How do I report a problem with a public archive?
READ THE ANSWER
Can I gift or sponsor an archive for someone?
READ THE ANSWER
My payment failed. Will I lose the archive?
READ THE ANSWER
How fast do you answer email?
READ THE ANSWER
I have an idea for a feature. Where do I send it?
READ THE ANSWER
Grieving, or supporting someone who is? Our free public resources — crisis lines, hard-conversation guides, and the support directory — live under resources, no account needed.