A little help.
Every step of the way.

Before you begin

Box of Whispers is being prepared for a public iPhone and iPad release. The website is a preview of the experience, not an installation link or a payment page. The guide below describes the app’s family journey.

You’ll use the Apple account already on your device. There’s no separate Box of Whispers password. Keep iCloud enabled and enough storage available.

Making your first gift

1. Choose your grandchild in the family section. A parent’s Apple account can receive for a younger child.
2. From Home, choose Make a gift. Write a note, add a photograph or record your voice or a video.
3. Check the preview. Make sure the words, attachment, grandchild and opening date—including the year—are right.
4. Send, then check delivery. Saved in your iCloud means your original is saved. Saved in the recipient’s iCloud means their independent copy was checked.

Receiving a private invitation

1. Ask the grandparent to address the invitation to the Apple account used on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Open the invitation link on that device. Accept Apple’s sharing prompt and open Box of Whispers.
3. Allow notifications if you’d like a reminder when a synced gift is ready.
4. Refresh iCloud in the app and check Your messages. Future gifts stay out of the ready inbox until their opening date.

On a phone without a SIM, iMessage can receive through the email enabled in Settings → Apps → Messages → Send & Receive. A green SMS sent to an inactive number won’t reach a Wi-Fi-only phone. Email is another way to deliver the invitation. Apple’s guide to setting up Messages.

If the link says “Item unavailable”

Check that you’re using the invited Apple account. The sender may need to add that account as an actual participant in Apple’s sharing screen, rather than only copying a link.

Ask for a fresh invitation if the sender stopped sharing or removed an unused link. Signing into iCloud on a desktop browser alone does not prove the invitation was accepted in the app.

If a notification doesn’t appear

1. Open Settings on the recipient’s iPhone and check that Box of Whispers notifications, Lock Screen, banners, sounds and badges are allowed.
2. Check Focus and Scheduled Summary settings, which can change how or when an alert appears.
3. Open the app, refresh iCloud, and make sure the gift has synced successfully. Check the full opening date and year.
4. For a test, use a new disposable gift dated a few minutes ahead, allow it to sync, then lock the phone.

A newly sent gift that has never synced cannot already have a local reminder. Background delivery also depends on iOS; don’t treat notifications as proof that every future upload reached a device.

Changing or removing your own gift

The publishing grandparent can edit an eligible future opening date from Gift details. A copy already available on a recipient’s device stays available. The recipient applies a date correction when their app next syncs.

Remove this gift for everyone asks updated recipient apps to remove that sender’s gift on their next successful connection. Another grandparent’s name or profile does not grant permission to remove their recordings. Already exported copies cannot be recalled. Older local gifts without verified sender identity are retained for safety.

Looking after a younger child’s collection

A guardian can accept invitations and keep the child’s collection on their own Apple account. Later, use the handover option to pass existing gifts to the child’s own account.

Wait for the child’s saved-copy confirmations and check their collection before removing the guardian’s copies. Ask grandparents to send direct invitations to the child’s new account for future gifts.

Keeping memories for the long run

Protect your Apple account with up-to-date recovery information. Watch your iCloud storage. Once a gift opens, save an ordinary copy somewhere the family can look after independently.

Sent originals can be recovered from the original publishing Apple account. Unsent drafts need the author’s recovery backup and its separate key. A recovery archive can expose the author’s future gift contents to whoever has both the archive and the key, so store them thoughtfully.

Apple accounts, storage and continued app maintenance are still needed. No app can responsibly promise it will keep working untouched for thirty years.

Need a story to start with?

Try our short worksheet. Choose one question, jot down a few thoughts, and make a gift when you’re ready.

Need a little more help?

Email contact@tonycsmith.com. Include the device, app version and what happened, and keep private family material out of the message wherever possible.