Dad
Afor you, from Dad
0:32
Voice notes
Talk to them now. They'll listen later.
Record a voice note for your kid. Tell them you love them. Tell them about today. Someday they'll hear you say it, not just read it.1
Say it tonight.
They'll hear it someday.
Dad, tonight. Riley is four months old.
Riley, 18. Same couch.
Say it tonight.
Dad, tonight. Riley is four months old.
They'll hear it someday.
Riley, 18. Same couch.
Voice notes, explained
What is a voice note?
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 voice note is you, talking to your kid. It's like a voicemail you leave them on purpose. Record it right on the page, up to 10 minutes.1 It sits on the timeline on the day you said it, next to that day's photos. Only the people you invite can hear it.
How it works
Press record and talk.
Up to 10 minutes, right on the page. Nothing to install.1
It lands on the day you said it.
Next to that day's photos and videos. Years from now, they'll see that day and hear you in it.
The family can record too.
Grandma records hers right on the page. Her posts wait for your OK.2
AI-generated photo Only your people can hear it.
No public profile. No strangers. Just the people you invite.
Free.
Every timeline gets voice notes and the Cassette player, Free included.
Press record and talk.
Up to 10 minutes, right on the page. Nothing to install.1
It lands on the day you said it.
Next to that day's photos and videos. Years from now, they'll see that day and hear you in it.
The family can record too.
Grandma records hers right on the page. Her posts wait for your OK.2
AI-generated photo Only your people can hear it.
No public profile. No strangers. Just the people you invite.
Free.
Every timeline gets voice notes and the Cassette player, Free included.
Hear one
Press play.
This is a voice note on Riley's timeline. Riley's dad recorded it when she was four months old.
What Dad says
Hey Riley. It's Dad. You're four months old, and you've already changed me. I'm not the same guy I was in the spring.
Some of that's scary. I worry about everything now. The stairs. The car. The whole world. For a while I thought something was wrong with me.
Nothing's wrong with me. It's normal. And if you ever have a kid and you feel this way, you're not broken. I felt it too.
I love you. That part doesn't change.
Why voice
Reading it isn't hearing it.
You can type "I love you," and they'll read it. Say it, and they'll hear the rest. The pause before it.The laugh after it.The way you say their name.
And you'll say more than you'd ever type. The whole story, not the short version. The part you'd skip if you had to write it down.
A text post that says I love you, beside the same words as a voice note you can play.
Easier than video
No camera. Just talk.
You're usually the one behind the camera, so you're in hardly any of the videos. And when it's your turn, you fix your hair, you start over, you give up.
A voice note is just you, talking. Don't like how it came out? Record it again before you post it. Nobody hears the first try.
Hate how you sound on a recording? They won't hear a recording. They'll hear you.
Your parents' voices
“I would give anything to hear my mom say she loves me again.”
Jeff's dad
Jeff built From Me to You. When he told his dad about it, his dad teared up. He never tears up.
He has his mom on old cassette tapes, family videos and photos. You can hear her in them. But she's never talking to him.
"Just like a voicemail," he said. "My mom directly speaking to me."
Your parents can tell your kid they love them, in their own voices. Invite them, and they can record a voice note right on the page. Nothing to install.2
What to say
Start with "I love you."
Don't overthink it. Talk to them like they're in the room.
Tell them you love them.
Then tell them why.
Tell them about today.
Even the boring parts. Those are the parts they'll want.
Tell them a story you'd never type out.
How you met. The night they were born.
Tell them how they've changed you.
Even a few months in, you're not the same.
Tell them it's normal to be scared.
When it's their turn, they'll need to hear it.
Ask Grandpa to record one.
What you were like as a baby. What he was like as a new dad.
Grandpa's turn
He was scared too.
Riley's dad told her it's normal to be scared. Then Grandpa told her he was scared too, when her dad was born.
What Grandpa says
Hey, kiddo. It's Grandpa. When your dad was born, I was scared to death. I checked on him all night long. Your grandma thought I'd lost it.
I want you to know that's normal. And I want you to know I love you. I'm proud of you already.
For later
Someday they'll slam a door.
And yell "You never loved me." They won't mean it. Leave the answer anyway, in your voice, from when they were small.
Riley's dad already answered. She was four months old.
I love you. That part doesn't change.
Time capsule posts and letters
A happy birthday for their 18th.
A time capsule post on Riley's timeline, shut: Opens on Riley's 18th birthday, March 14, 2040.
Kept
New phone. New carrier. Gone.
People lose voicemails all the time. A new phone, a new carrier, a reset. Even the ones they saved over and over.
Your voice notes stay on a private timeline, on the day you recorded them. We don't sell your data, and we don't use it for ads. The timeline's owner can ask us for a copy any time.* If From Me to You ever closes, the owner gets 30 days to download all of it.**
What Free includes
- A private timeline for your child
- Voice notes, up to 10 minutes each
- Photos, video, milestones, sealed letters and time capsule posts
- The Cassette player
- Family posts wait for your OK
- Room for you and three people you invite
- 5 GB of space, no card
Voice players
Pick your player.
Cassette
FreeThe Cassette is free on every timeline. Its label says who it's from: "for you, from Grandma."
The Mixtape, the 45 record, the Radio and the answering machine aren't part of Free.
Questions parents ask
What should I say?
Start with "I love you." Then tell them about today. It doesn't have to be long. It just has to be you.
Won't I feel silly talking to a baby?
Maybe at first. But you're talking to the kid who'll press play someday.
Who can hear it?
Only the people on your timeline. You can also share it with only some of them, seal it in a letter, or make it a time capsule post.3 4
Can Grandma record one?
Yes. She opens the link in her invite email, makes a free account and records hers right on the page. Nothing to install. Her posts wait for your OK.2
Can I redo it?
Yes. Before you post it, record it again as many times as you like. After you post it, you can delete it and record a new one.
How long can it be?
Up to 10 minutes each. Long enough for the whole story.1
Can I upload an old voicemail?
No. Voice notes are recorded right on the page. You can't upload an audio file.
Is there a written version?
No. A voice note is just your voice. When you post one, you can add a short line of text with it.
What does it cost?
Voice notes are free on every timeline, with the Cassette player. The other players aren't part of Free.
Keep exploring
- Sealed letters.Some things are just for them. Write a letter, or seal a voice note, that only the people you address can open.
- Time capsules.Not one post: a whole timeline. Fill it with the people you love, and open it together on the date you pick. Your first one is free.
- Kids timelines.See everything a kids timeline does.
Tell them in your own voice.
Say "I love you" tonight. They'll listen later.
Start your free timeline
Free, no card. Nothing to install.
Tell them in your own voice.
Say "I love you" tonight. They'll listen later.
Start your free timeline
Free, no card. Nothing to install.
Footnotes
- 1.Voice notes are up to 10 minutes each, recorded right on the page. You can't upload an audio file. Back to text
- 2.Anyone you invite who can post can record a voice note. They need a free account (FM2Y accounts are for people 18 and older) and your invite. Their posts wait for your OK unless you turn that off. Free has room for you and three people you invite. Back to text
- 3.Before its date, nobody can open a time capsule post, not even the person who made it. If someone other than a parent made it, a parent can look inside, and that opens it only for that parent. We open one early only when the law requires it, or for a safety report our lawyer approves. On its date it opens for everyone it's shared with. Free holds five time capsule posts waiting at a time. Back to text
- 4.Only the person who wrote a letter and the people it's addressed to can open it. Parents can open the ones the rest of the family writes. 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.** Free holds five sealed letters per timeline. Back to text
- *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. See Section 11 of our Terms. Back to text - **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, with every voice note as 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, and so is every voice in a sample voice note. We never share or use your family's photos or voices to promote FM2Y, so we made our own. Captures are labeled "Sample timeline."