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Public, Unlisted and Private Memorials: Who Can See the Page?

When you create a memorial page, one of the first choices is who should be able to see it. Pure Memorial has three levels. Here's exactly what each one does — including the limits, because a link is easy to forward and some things are out of anyone's control once shared.

You can change the level at any time from the page's edit screen.

Unlisted (the default)

Anyone with the link can open the page. It stays out of search engines.

This is where every new page starts, and it's the right choice for most families. You decide who gets the link — by messenger, e-mail or an invitation from the page — and only people who have it can find the page.

Good to know:

  • A link can be forwarded. Anyone you send it to can send it on. Unlisted keeps the page out of search results, not out of reach of someone who has the link.
  • Photos and the preview card on an unlisted page are marked so search engines don't index them either.
  • Anyone who can open the page can leave a memory, with or without an account.

Public

Anyone can open the page, and once it's verified it can appear in search engines.

Choose Public if you'd like people to be able to find the page by searching for the person's name — old friends you've lost touch with, former colleagues, distant relatives researching the family.

Good to know:

  • Only verified pages are offered to search engines. Until the death certificate has been checked, a public page behaves like an unlisted one as far as search is concerned.
  • Search engines update on their own schedule. A page can take days or weeks to appear, and if you later make it Unlisted or Private, it can take a while to drop out of results.
  • Everything on the page — biography, photos, the resting place — can be seen by anyone, so write with that in mind.

Private

Only you can open the page.

Private is useful while you're still writing, or for a page you want to keep just for yourself. Nobody else can open it, even with the link — they'll see a "not found" page.

Good to know:

  • There's no "private, but family can see it" level today: Private means you alone. To share with family only, use Unlisted and share the link carefully.
  • Invitations by e-mail aren't available for private pages, since the people invited couldn't open them.

What verification changes

Separately from the privacy level, a page can be verified with a death certificate. Verification:

  • adds the Verified badge;
  • lets a public page appear in search engines.

Memories, e-mail invitations and reminders don't depend on it: they work on every page from the start. Until a page is verified, visitors see that it's a family page that hasn't been verified.

The certificate itself is kept in private storage and is never shown on the page. How verification works.

Changing your mind, and deleting

You can switch levels at any time, edit anything on the page, or delete it entirely along with its photos and documents. When you do, the change takes effect on Pure Memorial straight away. A few copies outside our control take longer to catch up:

  • photos cached by browsers and our delivery network — up to an hour;
  • the preview card shown when the link is shared — up to a week;
  • previews already posted in messengers and social networks, and search results, which those services update on their own schedule.

And anything someone saved or screenshotted while the page was open can't be recalled by anyone. That's why Unlisted is the default, and why it's worth a moment's thought before making a page Public. More on this on our About page.

Which should you choose?

If you want… Choose
Family and friends you send the link to Unlisted
Anyone searching their name to find the page Public (once verified)
A page only you can see, for now Private

Create a memorial — it starts Unlisted, and you can change it whenever you're ready.