90–100
Exceptional
Strong family control and low lock-in dependence.
Scoring Framework
How Safe Memory scores memorial platforms.
The framework uses public criteria to compare memorial services in a consistent, transparent, and non-sensational way. The point is to improve clarity, not manufacture outrage.
Safe Memory is designed to make memorial technology legible before a family has to trust it.
Weighted criteria
Category
Weight
High-scoring behaviour
Poor-scoring behaviour
Ownership of uploaded media
Whether the platform clearly affirms that uploaded photographs, video, text, and memorial materials remain the family's.
20
Ownership language is explicit, plain, and consistent across the product and its policies.
Rights are broad, ambiguous, or hard to reconcile with the product's family-facing promise.
Exportability and exit rights
Whether families can recover their archive in a complete and practical way if they leave.
20
Exports are visible, comprehensive, and explained without ambiguity.
Recovery is partial, difficult, or unclear until after a problem appears.
Transparency of storage model
Whether the site explains where memorial data lives and how ongoing access is maintained.
15
The storage and access model is explained in plain language, not implied.
Families must infer long-term behavior from fragments or legal boilerplate.
Contribution portability
Whether invited family contributions can be reviewed, preserved, and recovered appropriately.
10
Contribution flows are deliberate and contributions are not silently absorbed.
Contributions are hard to track, approve, or retrieve later.
Privacy and permission clarity
Whether privacy states and contribution permissions are understandable to ordinary users.
15
Families can tell who sees what and who can act within the memorial.
Permission settings are abstract, hidden, or easy to misread.
Post-subscription access rights
What remains accessible if payment stops or a plan changes.
10
The product clearly explains continuity and avoids abrupt trust cliffs.
Archive access becomes uncertain once billing changes.
Ease of archive recovery and download
How practical the archive recovery process actually feels in use, not just in policy.
10
Recovery pathways are visible, simple, and aligned with family expectations.
Recovery is treated as an edge case or hidden behind support dependency.
Transparent scoring
The framework is meant to make trust questions legible, not abstract.
Scoring categories are public so families and builders can understand the reasoning behind every review.
Method note
The scoring model is meant to improve transparency, not intensify drama.
Reviews should explain what a platform does well, where its trust gaps remain, and how the score was reached. Safe Memory is intended to reward clarity and principled memorial architecture, not performative criticism.
Framework in use
See how the scoring model appears in a real review.
The review index is designed to scale over time while keeping the same core categories and scoring language visible.