Often we struggle to talk about death and what might come after we’re gone, but a new app from an Oxfordshire-based businessman is looking to give us a way to leave behind some positive memories for our family and friends.

The After Cloud app, due to launch in September, will enable people who may not have long left to live to store letters, audio messages, images, and videos in a digital vault. The app, aimed on those in hospices or hospitals, also provides the ability to ‘future post’ – meaning content can be scheduled to be sent to family or friends long after you’re gone, giving you the opportunity to still wish your child “happy birthday”, for example.

The app has been created by Darren Evans, who received inspiration from his son after a family member passed away, and there wasn’t a lot around to remember her by.

“When I lost my mother-in-law it really hit home, and we soon realised that with the exception of some old photographs and personal items, we had very little to remember her by,” said Evans.

“It was only then that we realised, this must be the case for other families bereaving. Our 11-year-old son then came up with the idea to create an app to allow individuals to post to the future and leave a beautiful lasting, digital legacy. As soon as this was mentioned – the light bulb turned on. I knew that there was a gap in the industry for this sort of memory building and realised that we could help families worldwide with bereavement.”