What a digital memorial is: meaning, how it works and what it is for

A digital memorial brings together two elements: a durable physical object, a plaque, a medallion or a card, and an online page uniquely linked to that object. The object stays in the place of remembrance; the page lives on the internet and can be reached by anyone with permission to view it.

It is a way to move beyond the limits of the space engraved on the stone. A headstone has room for a name, two dates and a few words. A digital memorial has room for a whole life: the story, the images, the voices, the gestures of closeness from those who remain.

It all comes down to a single gesture: bringing your phone close. Every Aevi plaque contains both a QR code and an NFC chip. Anyone who scans the code with their camera, or rests their smartphone on the plaque, opens the memorial page straight away, with nothing to download.

• The page is created online, free of charge, by registering an account and entering the essential details.
• It is enriched at your own pace, from any device, by adding photos, videos, a biography and quotations.
• The plaque, received by post, is linked to the memorial with a single scan and installed in the chosen place.

From that moment the memorial is accessible for ever: to those living nearby and to those on the other side of the world.

An Aevi digital memorial can gather a biography, a gallery of photos and videos, a quotation, information about the family and a guest book, where visitors leave a thought or light a virtual candle.

You can also add the location of the place of burial, to guide those who wish to visit, and reminders for anniversaries, so that no date is lost. Everything is kept tidy on a single page, understated and easy to read.

It serves to safeguard a memory that would otherwise be scattered: the photographs shut away in a drawer, the stories told by word of mouth, the details only the family knows. It is intended for those who have lost a loved one and wish to preserve their memory, for families who want an archive able to span the generations, and for those who live far away and wish to stay close.

There are also those who choose in advance how they wish to be remembered, preparing their own memorial while they can still do so in their own words.

A memorial is made to last: it makes sense to entrust it to an equally trustworthy custodian. Aevi keeps photos, videos and memories on servers in Switzerland, in compliance with the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP). The memories remain the family's; they do not become a commodity to be traded.

To this are added support in your own language, Italian, German, French and English, and local payment methods such as TWINT. It is the difference between a service designed for Switzerland and just any platform.

Both technologies lead to the same memorial. The QR code is scanned with the camera; NFC is activated by bringing the phone close. Having both on the same plaque means the memory opens either way, with any smartphone. We have explored the practical differences in a dedicated guide.