App allows Mexicans to 'reach out after death'

MEXICO CITY: Providing a welcoming voice from beyond the grave, a Mexican app has been launched to store messages and last wishes for users to share with loved ones after their death.

"Mexicans laugh at death, but it's hard for them to talk about it," said Miguel Farrell, the creator of Past Post.

The app "allows you to leave your things in order for this moment that will arrive when you least expect it," he told AFP.

While Mexicans happily accept a gift of a sugar skull with their name on it for the annual Day of the Dead festival, they are often less comfortable discussing the issue, in particular inheritance.

The app allows a father in good health for example to record congratulatory messages for his children to hear several years later when they graduate, in case he dies in the meantime.

It enables users to leave instructions such as preferences for their funeral or administration of bank accounts and social media accounts.

Past Post keeps this content in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) — a digital certificate of ownership that uses the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

Its creator emphasizes that the app, which costs $19 a year, cannot replace a will, which the vast majority of Mexicans do not have, according to the Mexico City notaries association.

The content "has no legal value but it has a very important symbolic value," Farrell said.