Last updated July 2026
Data and security
Where a memorial lives, who can reach it, and what happens to it in thirty years. This is the page we would want to read before handing over a parent's photographs.
Today: a database, and your browser as a fallback
A memorial you publish goes into a managed Postgres database, with photographs in private object storage beside it. Your account is a real one, and signing in is a link sent to your address rather than a password.
The browser storage this site began with is still there, but only as a fallback for when the site is run without database keys. In that state a memorial made on a laptop will not open on a phone and clearing browsing data deletes it. The dashboard tells you which of the two you are in rather than leaving you to guess.
What we are building next
Memorials are stored in a managed Postgres database with photographs in object storage, hosted in the region the project was created in. Connections are encrypted in transit, files are encrypted at rest, and backups run daily with point in time recovery.
Private memorials will be enforced on the server, not merely hidden in the interface, so an unlisted link cannot be guessed or scraped.
Who can see a memorial
A public memorial can be opened by anyone with the link, which is the point when a QR code is being passed around at a service. A private memorial is visible only to people the family invites.
You can move a memorial between the two at any time, and taking one private takes effect immediately.
Taking everything with you
Export will not be a feature we quietly forget to build. You will be able to download every photograph at full quality and every word of the writing, in a form that is useful without Styx, at any time and without asking.
A company that makes it hard to leave is telling you something about how it expects to keep you.
The thirty year problem
We are asking families to believe a memorial will still be here long after the company that built it. Most startups do not last thirty years, and pretending otherwise would be the easiest lie on this website.
So the promise is specific instead. One payment funds storage rather than being spent on growth. If Styx were ever to wind down we would give notice, keep exports open throughout, and refuse to sell the archive to anyone who wanted to advertise against it. See the terms for the commitment in full.
Reporting something
If you find a security problem, please tell us at hello@styx.ca before telling anyone else, and we will credit you once it is fixed.