Private by default, and in your control
Not every family wants a loved one's life on public display. Cherished Book lets you decide who can see a memorial, who can add to it, and who can read what other people have written. Anyone can send a message meant for the family alone. No ads, no strangers, no noise.
You decide who sees it
A memorial can be public for anyone to find, private to a chosen circle, or invite-only so that only the people you ask can reach it. You set the level, and you can change it. The platform serves the family's wishes, not an algorithm that wants more eyes on the page.
This matters most for families who grieve quietly. A memorial that feels like social media, busy, public, and never still, is the wrong place for some traditions and some families. Cherished Book is built to be the opposite: calm, contained, and yours.
Collect from everyone, show it to whoever you choose
Who can add to a memorial and who can read it are two different questions, so we ask them separately. A memorial can stay open to everyone who wants to share a memory, while the memories themselves are kept for the family, for invited friends, or for anyone signed in. Choosing a smaller audience does not stop anyone contributing. They simply see a short line explaining that what is shared here is being kept close. When the time comes, you can stop taking new contributions altogether. The memories already shared are kept safe for you, though the memorial stops showing them while contributions are off.
You can also choose not to show contributions straight away. Wait until a few have arrived, so the memorial opens with a page full of memories rather than one lonely tribute. Wait until a date that matters, such as the day of the service. Or set both, and they appear once both have happened. Nobody visiting is shown a countdown, a target or a date. You can read everything as it comes in.
Some things are only for the family
There are things people want to say that are not for a public page. When someone shares a memory, they choose who will see it: everyone, everyone but without their name, or only the people looking after the memorial. A private message never appears on the memorial, at any setting, to anyone else.
This costs nothing and works on every memorial, free or Premium, because someone deciding whether to be honest should not run into a price. The person who wrote it is the only one who can change their mind later. You can keep a private message, download it, or delete it, but you cannot publish it, and neither can we.
The controls you have
- Choose public, private, or invite-only access for the whole memorial.
- Choose separately who can read the contributions: everyone, anyone signed in, people who have shared something themselves, invited people only, or just the family.
- Stop taking new contributions whenever you are ready. The memories already shared are kept safe for you, though they stop showing while contributions are off.
- Choose not to show contributions until a few have arrived, or until a date you pick, or both.
- Approve contributions before they appear, so nothing is published without your say-so.
- Decide whether the memorial can be found by search engines.
- Assign roles, so different people can view, contribute, or help manage.
- No ads and no third-party tracking, ever.
Yours, and exportable
Privacy also means ownership. Everything on the memorial belongs to your family, not to us, and you can download all of it whenever you like. You are never locked in. You can read how we handle your information in our privacy policy and data protection pages.
Questions about privacy
Can I keep the memorial off Google?
Yes. You can choose whether a memorial is visible to search engines or kept out of them.
Are there ads on a memorial?
No. Cherished Book never runs third-party ads on a memorial.
Can someone write something only the family will read?
Yes. When they share a memory they choose who will see it, and one of the options sends it to the people looking after the memorial instead of to the page. It never appears publicly. This is free on every memorial.
Can I publish a private message if it is lovely?
No, and that is deliberate. Only the person who wrote it can change their mind. You can read it, keep it, include it in your printed memorial book, or delete it.
Can people still contribute if they cannot see the other memories?
Yes. Who can add to a memorial and who can read it are separate settings, so you can gather memories from everyone while showing them to a smaller circle.
Can I keep contributions hidden until the day of the service?
Yes. You can hold them until a date you choose, until a number of them have arrived, or both together. People can still share memories throughout, and you can read them as they come in.
Which privacy features need Premium?
A memorial can be created free, and sending a message privately to the family is free on every memorial. Choosing who can read the contributions, and choosing when they appear, are part of Premium.
See it in a real memorial
Solomon Goldberg
Solomon's memorial is calm and free of ads, honoured in words in keeping with his tradition. A real memorial gives a sense of the dignified space your own privacy settings would protect.
View this memorialLast reviewed June 2026.
A memorial everyone who loved them can add to.
A collaborative memorial lets family and friends share stories, photos, and announcements, all in one place. It’s free to create.
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