OUR STORY
Why I built this.
When I was 25, I hiked Volcan Fuego in Guatemala.
Fuego is an active volcano. The kind that occasionally makes international news. The hike is remote and grueling, and I was out there alone, with nobody who knew exactly where I was or when I was supposed to be back.
I wasn't scared of the volcano. I was scared of something quieter than that. The thought that if something happened to me out there, the people I cared about most might not find out for days. That they'd be left wondering. That I had things I'd want them to know, and no way to make sure they heard them.
So before the hike, I started looking for an app that would do one simple thing: if nobody heard from me by a certain time, send a message. Something that let my family know I hadn't checked in. Something that could carry a note I'd already written for them, just in case.
I found estate planners. Services built for people who already knew the end was coming and had time to prepare for it. I didn't find anything for a 25-year-old who just wanted peace of mind before a hike.
So I built it.
How it works.
If You Read This is built around a simple idea: you check in by opening the app. Set your interval, daily, weekly, or longer. Write a personal message for the people you'd want to hear from you if something ever went wrong. If you ever stop checking in and don't respond to our reminders, that message goes out automatically by SMS to the contacts you chose. No executor. No third party. Just your words, reaching the right people.
Building it, I realized quickly that this wasn't only for hikers. It's for the person who lives alone and worries that nobody would notice if they fell. For an elderly parent who wants their kids to know they're okay every day without having to ask. For anyone going somewhere remote, anyone with a medical condition, anyone who has ever had the thought: if something happened to me, would the people I love find out in time?
That's what this is. A safety net, and a way to make sure the people who matter most hear from you, no matter what.
Ryan
Founder, If You Read This