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Sealed letters

Some things are just for them.

Write your kid a letter and seal it. Add a photo, a video or a voice note. The family sees the envelope, but not what's inside.1

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Read a sample letter

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Sealed letters, explained

What is a sealed letter?

From Me to You is a private timeline for your child. You invite the people who love them: grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends. Everyone adds photos, videos, voice notes and milestones.

A sealed letter is a private letter to your kid, for later. It shows up on the timeline as an envelope. The family sees the envelope, but not what's inside.1

Writing to just your kid? They open it when the timeline becomes theirs.2 Want your partner to read it too? Add them, and they can open it right away. If a letter isn't addressed to you, you can't read it. The one exception: parents can read what the rest of the family writes.1

How it works

  • It's an envelope on your timeline.

    Everyone on the timeline sees who it's from. Only the people it's addressed to can open it.1

  • Seal more than words.

    A letter, a photo, a video, a voice note or a milestone.

  • Pick who it's to.

    It always goes to your kid. You can add your partner, a grandparent or anyone else on the timeline.

  • It opens right away for them.

    Anyone you add can open it as soon as you post it. Your kid opens it when the timeline becomes theirs.2 No password to hand over.

  • Five free.

    Every timeline gets five free sealed letters, shared by everyone on it. A paid timeline has no limit.3

  • Want it to wait for a day?

    Make it a time capsule post instead. Nobody can open it until its date.4

Take a closer look

Tap it to open it.

This is a sealed letter on a timeline. Pick who you are, then tap the envelope. The person who wrote it can open it, and so can the people it's addressed to. For everyone else, what's inside stays inside.

Viewing as:
From Dad. To Riley.

A sample letter.

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Who can open it

The family sees the envelope. Not what's inside.

Most posts on the timeline are for the whole family. A sealed letter isn't. The family can see that you wrote one, but not what's inside. Only the people it's addressed to can open it, and your kid can when the timeline becomes theirs.2

Grandma's voice note, Bedtime story.

Everyone on the timeline can see this.

Dad's photo of Riley on the swing: Higher. Higher. Okay, that's high enough.

Everyone on the timeline can see this.

Sorry, this letter isn't addressed to you.

The family sees the envelope. Only the people it's addressed to can open it.

Mom's photo: Rain boots in every puddle after school.

What to write

Nobody gave you a manual.

AI-generated photo: a parent's hands writing a letter at a kitchen table at night, a baby monitor glowing beside the page.

Ask your parents how they felt in your first year. They probably won't remember.

Write it down while you still remember: the night nothing worked, the choice you worried about, and what you want them to know if they become parents.

Your voice

Not a writer? Say it.

Don't know what to write? Record a voice note or a video and seal that instead.5 Some things sound better in your voice than on paper.

The whole family

Grandma can write one too.

Grandma, Grandpa, an aunt or anyone else who can post on the timeline can seal a letter to your kid. You can turn that off for anyone.6

You're still in charge. You and your partner run the timeline. Grandma usually doesn't, so she can't do everything you can. You can always open any letter she writes. You can also have her posts wait for your OK, and then her letters wait too.6

AI-generated photo: a grandmother's hands writing a letter at her kitchen table, an envelope beside the page.

For parents

Just between us.

Some things are just between a dad and his son. Or a mom and her daughter.

When a parent writes your kid a letter, the other parent can't open it. They see the envelope, but they can't read it. Want them to read it? Add them to the letter, and they can open it right away.1

There's nothing to turn on. It's just who you write it to. Grandma can seal a letter, but she can't keep you from reading it.

Mom's view

Dad's view

How they get it

No password to hand over.

Lots of parents make their baby an email account and plan to hand over the password someday. A sealed letter doesn't need a password. Your kid opens it when the timeline becomes theirs, along with everything else on it.2 Anyone else it's addressed to can open it as soon as you post it.

Time capsule posts

Nobody opens it early. Not even you.

A sealed letter opens right away for the people it's addressed to. Want something to wait for a day, like their 16th birthday? Make it a time capsule post.

Pick a date. Add words, a photo, a video, a voice note or a milestone. Until that day, nobody can open it: not your kid, not the other parent, not even you.4 The timeline shows a countdown.

On the day, it opens by itself for everyone you shared it with. They get a message: "A time capsule post from Dad is now open."

Every timeline can have five time capsule posts waiting at a time for free. A paid timeline has no limit.3

Riley's timeline, on the day Dad wrote it: a time capsule post, a brass tin with its paper label stamped Opens May 3, 2034, and a countdown under it. The countdown runs to zero, the lid lifts off and the post opens in place: Riley's first steps, an AI-generated photo, and a note from Dad that reads: Three steps to the couch, then you sat down and laughed. Today you walked. Love, Dad. Then a message drops in: A time capsule post from Dad is now open.

Private

This isn't social media.

It's a private timeline for the people who love your kid. Nobody else.

The family can still like and comment.

Dad's photo of Riley on the swing: Higher. Higher. Okay, that's high enough.

  • Aunt Jo

    Look at that face.

  • Grandma

    She gets that from you.

    • Dad

      She'd stay on that swing all day.

Stick a heart on a photo. Leave a note in the margin. Reply to Grandma.

Notes are in the FM2Y app.

What you won't find here.

  • No strangers.Nobody gets in without an invite.
  • No public profile.There's no page about your kid for anyone to find.
  • No followers.Nobody can follow your kid.
  • No search engines.Google can't see a timeline.
  • No public feed.Nothing you post goes out to the public.
  • No ads.Nobody pays to put things in front of your family.
  • No algorithm.Posts show in date order. Nothing gets pushed up or buried.

Kept

It won't get lost.

Letters get lost. Passwords get forgotten. Inboxes get closed. Boxes get left behind in a move.

Your letters stay on a private timeline. Google can't see it, and strangers can't find it.

The timeline's owner can ask us for a copy any time.* If From Me to You ever closes, the timeline's owner gets 30 days to download all of it.** And when your kid reaches the age you picked, the timeline can become theirs.2

What Free includes

  • A private timeline for your child
  • 5 sealed letters, shared by the whole timeline3
  • 5 time capsule posts waiting at a time3
  • Photos, video, voice notes and milestones
  • Family posts wait for your OK
  • Room for you and three people you invite
  • 5 GB of space, no card
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Upgrade your timeline

Want more? Upgrade your timeline.

Any paid timeline gives you more space, invisible letters, as many sealed letters and time capsule posts as you want, and more timeline themes.7 Free doesn't include these.

Invisible letters

Some letters Grandma never sees.

Don't want Grandma to know you're writing your kid secret letters? Make it invisible. Grandma won't see it on the timeline at all.

The other parent still sees it, locked. Parents never hide letters from each other. They can only lock them.1

Invisible letters come with any paid timeline.7

Grandma's view

Mom's view

Envelope skins

Pick your envelope.

Classic

Free

The family sees the envelope, so make it a good one. Classic is free on every timeline.

Kraft, Airmail, Midnight, Rosewood and Heirloom aren't part of Free.

Inbox, closet box or sealed letter?

  1. Who can read it

    The inbox you made for them
    Anyone with the password
    The box in the closet
    Anyone who opens the box
    A sealed letter
    The people it's addressed to1

  2. How it gets to them

    The inbox you made for them
    You hand over the password
    The box in the closet
    Someone finds it
    A sealed letter
    It's on their timeline when it becomes theirs2

  3. Your voice, not just your words

    The inbox you made for them
    As attachments
    The box in the closet
    Paper only
    A sealed letter
    Voice notes and video

  4. The family can write one too

    The inbox you made for them
    No
    The box in the closet
    No
    A sealed letter
    Yes, Grandma too

  5. Safe from a move or a fire

    The inbox you made for them
    Yes
    The box in the closet
    No
    A sealed letter
    Yes

How we keep it private

The Family File

  • Only the people it's addressed to can open it.

    The family sees the envelope. We open a letter only when the law requires it, or for a safety report our lawyer approves.1

  • Invite only.

    No public profiles, no public feed, no search engines. Strangers can't find a timeline, and nobody joins without an invite.

  • Not for sale.

    We don't sell your data, and we don't use it for ads.
Read the privacy policy

Questions parents ask

What should I write?

Whatever you'd want to read if you were them. The night nothing worked. The car seat you worried about. What you hope for them. Or skip the writing and seal a voice note or a video.

Can my partner read my letters?

Only if you add them. If you both run the timeline, they'll see the envelope but can't open it. Add them to the letter, and they can open it right away.1

What's the difference between a hidden post and a sealed letter?

A hidden post is seen by the people you pick and by every parent on the timeline. A sealed letter shows the family only its envelope. Only the people it's addressed to can open it. If a parent wrote it, the other parent can't open it unless it's addressed to them.1

What's the difference between a sealed letter and a time capsule post?

A sealed letter is about who: it opens right away for the people it's addressed to. A time capsule post is about when: it waits for a date you pick, and nobody can open it before then, not even you.4

Can Grandma write one?

Yes, unless you turn it off for her. You can always open her letters. If her posts wait for your OK, her letters do too.6

When does my kid get it?

When the timeline becomes theirs.2 Then they can open every letter written to them, yours too. A time capsule post opens for them on its date, or the day the timeline becomes theirs if that comes later.2

Can I change it after I seal it?

You can rewrite a letter or delete it any time. Once it's sealed, you can't change who it's to, or whether it's invisible. To change those, delete it and write a new one. If your posts wait for an OK, a rewrite waits again. A time capsule post is different: before its date you can delete it, but you can't open it or change it.4

What if From Me to You isn't around someday?

The timeline's owner can ask us for a copy any time.* If we ever close, we'll email you at least 30 days before. Until then, everyone can still view their timelines, and each owner can download all of it.** And when your kid reaches the age you picked, the timeline can become theirs.2

Keep exploring

Say it now. They'll read it later.

Some things are just for them. Write your first one tonight.

Start your free timeline

Free, no card. Nothing to install.

Footnotes

  1. 1.The person who wrote a letter can always open it. So can everyone it's addressed to, as soon as it's posted, and your kid once the timeline is theirs. If someone other than a parent wrote it, the parents can open it too. "Parents" here means the timeline's owner, co-admins and whoever pays for it. A parent's letter stays shut for the other parents unless it's addressed to them. They see only its envelope. We open a letter only when the law requires it, or for a safety report our lawyer approves. If From Me to You ever closes, every letter opens for the timeline's owner.** Back to text
  2. 2.Name your kid as the person who gets the timeline. Once we approve them, the timeline is theirs at the age you picked, with every letter written to them. Time capsule posts open for them on their date, or right away if that date has passed. Whoever you name gets the timeline and every letter to your kid, so name your kid. If nobody is named and approved, the timeline doesn't hand over. Back to text
  3. 3.Free holds five sealed letters per timeline. That's five for the whole timeline, not five each. Free also holds five time capsule posts waiting at a time. When one opens, its place frees up. A paid timeline has no limit on either. Back to text
  4. 4.Before its date, nobody can open a time capsule post: not the person who made it, not your kid, and not the other parents if a parent made it. If someone other than a parent made it, a parent can look inside to look after the timeline. That opens it only for that parent. Whoever made it can delete it before its date, but can't open it or change it, and a parent can delete one the rest of the family made. When family posts wait for your OK, a time capsule post waits too. On its date it opens for everyone it's shared with. If it's shared with only some people, the parents can open it on that date too, like any hidden post. We open one early only when the law requires it, or for a safety report our lawyer approves. Back to text
  5. 5.Voice notes up to 10 minutes each. Video up to 500 MB each. Back to text
  6. 6.Anyone you invite who can post can seal letters, unless you turn it off for them. When their posts wait for your OK, their letters do too, and only a parent can approve a letter. Back to text
  7. 7.Invisible letters, no limit on sealed letters or time capsule posts, more space and more themes come with any paid timeline. Envelope skins belong to the person who writes the letter, not the timeline, so a paid timeline doesn't include them. None of these are part of Free. Back to text
  8. *A copy of the timeline: the timeline's owner can email us any time at hi@shmo.me. We'll send a copy of the timeline that opens in any web browser, with every photo, video and voice note as it was uploaded. You can view it and save it, but you can't post to it. Back to text
  9. **If From Me to You ever closes, we'll email every account holder at least 30 days before the service ends. On the first of those 30 days, every letter and every time capsule post opens for the timeline's owner, and each one opens for the people it's for too. For those 30 days, everyone can still view their timelines, and each timeline's owner can download a full copy at the quality it was uploaded. Nobody can post. See Section 11 of our Terms. Back to text

Every photo of people on these pages is AI-generated. We never share or use your family's photos to promote FM2Y, so we made our own. Captures are labeled "Sample timeline."