What Happens to a Memorial Video After the Funeral?

What should you do with a memorial video once the funeral is over? A practical guide to private sharing, keepsakes, future remembrance events and long-term preservation, with no assumption that publishing online is the right or expected next step.

By Kathleen G, reviewed by Scott G

After the service, families generally have a few options: keep the video private within the family, share it with selected relatives and friends, use it again at a future remembrance event, or preserve it as a lasting keepsake. There's no single expected next step, and no obligation to publish or share it more widely than feels right. Before deciding, it's worth thinking through privacy, who should have access, and how the video will be stored over the longer term.

Decide Who Should Be Able to See It

A useful starting point is thinking about who the video is actually for. Possible audiences include:

• Immediate family only
• Extended family
• Friends
• A community or organisation the person was connected to
• People who couldn't attend the service
• A public audience
• No one beyond the immediate family who made it

The audience you choose affects several practical decisions:

• Music. Private use and public sharing can involve different copyright considerations (more on this below).
• Images of other people. A wider audience may mean checking that others featured are comfortable being included.
• Personal information. Details appropriate for close family may not suit a broader or public audience.
• Children's images. Worth extra thought if the video will be shared beyond the immediate family, particularly online.
• Voice recordings. Consider whether anyone recorded would be comfortable with a wider audience hearing them.
• Sensitive stories. Content that feels appropriate in a private setting may need reconsideration for a public one.
• Cultural or religious material. Some material may be intended specifically for a particular community or context, rather than general sharing.

(This article offers practical guidance, not definitive legal advice about consent or privacy. If you're unsure about a specific situation, check current Australian privacy guidance directly.)

Option 1: Keep It Private

For many families, keeping the video within the family is exactly the right choice. This might look like:

• Keeping a copy with the family, without wider distribution
• Sharing directly with selected relatives, rather than a broader group
• Using a private link where appropriate, rather than a public posting
• Holding a private family viewing, in person or online
• Storing a copy with a trusted person, in addition to your own copy

There's no specific platform recommended here. The right method depends on what you and your family are comfortable using, and confirm any particular platform's privacy settings yourself before relying on them.

Option 2: Share It With Family and Friends

If you'd like a wider group to see the video, a few practical approaches:

• Sharing a digital copy directly with specific people
• Sending a private link, rather than a publicly discoverable one
• Providing a USB or other physical copy as a keepsake
• Supporting relatives in different locations who couldn't attend in person
• Checking that recipients understand the material is personal and not intended for further sharing
• Being mindful of uncontrolled redistribution, particularly where privacy matters to the family. Once a file or link is shared, it can be difficult to control where it ends up afterwards

Option 3: Use It at Future Remembrance Events

Some families like to revisit the video at later occasions, such as:

• Anniversaries of the person's passing
• Birthdays
• Family gatherings
• Community commemorations
• Cultural or religious remembrance events
• Private family milestones

It's worth knowing that you don't have to use the exact same version each time. Many families choose to revisit or lightly revise the material for a later occasion, rather than treating the original as fixed forever.

Option 4: Create a Digital or Physical Keepsake

Beyond immediate sharing, some families want a lasting keepsake. Options include:

• A USB keepsake, kept somewhere safe
• A digital download, stored in more than one place
• Private online storage, with access limited to the family
• Printed photographs or other accompanying material alongside the video
• A small family archive that includes the video plus related material
• A short written record explaining what the file contains and how it was made, useful for future family members who might come across it later

No storage medium, USB, cloud storage, hard drives or otherwise, can be guaranteed to last indefinitely or remain accessible forever, so think about this as an ongoing responsibility rather than a one-off task.

Preserving the Original Material

A few practical habits help protect the video over the longer term:

• Keep the final exported video, not just a compressed or shared copy
• Keep original photographs and recordings where possible, not only the finished video
• Keep the editable project file only if it's available and genuinely useful to retain
• Store more than one copy
• Use more than one storage location (for example, a cloud copy and a physical copy)
• Identify who is responsible for looking after the archive over time
• Review who has access periodically, particularly as family circumstances change
• Check files periodically to make sure they still open and play correctly

No digital storage method can be promised to be permanent. File formats, devices and platforms all change over time, so occasional checking is a reasonable habit rather than a one-off setup task.

Privacy and Access Considerations

Worth thinking through, particularly before sharing more widely:

• Images of other people, especially those outside the immediate family
• Children's images
• Private correspondence included in the video
• Sensitive personal information
• Medical information, if referenced anywhere in the material
• Voice recordings of people other than the person being remembered
• Whether links are public or private
• Passwords or access controls, where the storage method supports them
• Whether recipients may be able to download or redistribute the video further

This isn't legal advice, and requirements can vary depending on your specific circumstances. Check current Australian privacy, copyright and consent guidance if you have particular concerns, rather than assuming a general approach covers every situation.

Music and Online Sharing

How music is treated can depend heavily on where and how the video is used:

• Played privately at a family event. Generally a different consideration to wider distribution.
• Shared with selected people. Still relatively private, though this isn't an automatic exemption from all copyright considerations.
• Uploaded to a public platform. Brings the video into a much more visible copyright environment, where platforms often detect copyrighted audio automatically.
• Embedded on a public memorial page. Generally treated as public use, even if the page itself isn't heavily promoted.

Copyright requirements can vary depending on the specific music, the platform and how the video is shared. Check the current position before publishing anything online, rather than assuming private-event use and public sharing are treated the same way.

For more detail on music choices generally, see: Best Songs for a Funeral Slideshow or Memorial Video

Can the Video Be Updated Later?

It's fairly common for families to want to revisit a memorial video after the fact, for reasons such as:

• Correcting a name or date that was wrong or unclear at the time
• Adding a newly found photograph
• Including a voice recording that wasn't available initially
• Creating a shorter version for a different use
• Creating separate private and public versions, if the family wants to share more widely later
• Preparing a version specifically for a future event, such as an anniversary

If you do update the video, it's generally worth preserving the original approved version separately, rather than only keeping the edited version. That way, the version actually shown at the service remains available if needed.

A Post-Service Preservation Checklist

• Final video saved
• Backup copy created
• Original source material retained
• Intended audience decided
• Permissions and privacy reviewed
• Music and publication rights checked
• Responsible archive owner identified
• Family members provided with agreed access
• File tested after copying
• Future review date considered

How Still Frames Can Help

Deciding what to do with a memorial video after the service is entirely up to the family. There's no expectation that it needs to be shared widely, published online, or turned into anything more than a private keepsake. Still Frames may be able to help families prepare a video for private sharing, future remembrance or longer-term use, subject to what's actually available as part of the service. This is worth discussing directly rather than assumed.

If you would like to discuss how a memorial video might be preserved or shared, you can contact Still Frames for a conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should a funeral slideshow be uploaded online? Not necessarily. This is entirely up to the family. Many memorial videos are kept private and shared only with selected people. If you do want to publish online, it's worth considering privacy, consent and copyright first.

How can I share a memorial video privately? Common approaches include sending a direct digital copy, using a private (not publicly discoverable) link, or providing a physical copy such as a USB. The right method depends on what you and your family are comfortable using.

How should I back up a funeral video? Keep more than one copy, ideally in more than one location, for example a cloud copy and a physical copy such as a USB or hard drive. No single storage method can be guaranteed to last forever, so occasional checking is worthwhile.

Can a memorial video be used at a future anniversary? Yes, many families revisit or lightly update the video for anniversaries, birthdays or other remembrance events. It's worth preserving the original approved version separately if you plan to make changes.

Can I update a memorial video later? Yes. Correcting details, adding newly found material, or creating a different version for a future use are all common reasons families revisit a memorial video. It's generally worth keeping the original version as well as any updated one.

Conclusion

What happens to a memorial video after the funeral is entirely a family decision. There's no expectation to share it widely or publish it online, and private, family-only use is just as valid an option as anything more public. Whatever you choose, it's worth keeping original material and more than one copy, thinking through privacy and access before sharing further, checking music considerations before any online use, and preserving the approved version before making later changes. The video can remain something the family holds quietly, or something shared and revisited over time. Either way is a reasonable choice.

For everything that comes before this, How to Create a Memorial Video: The Complete Guide covers the process end to end, How to Prepare Photos, Videos and Information for a Memorial Video covers gathering and keeping original material, and Funeral and Memorial Video Technical Checklist covers the checks worth doing before the service.

A practical checklist for the period after a funeral or memorial service. This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check current Australian privacy and copyright guidance for anything you're unsure about.

Immediately After the Service

• Final approved video saved in a secure location
• Backup copy created (a second location or device)
• Original source photographs, videos and audio retained separately
• Editable project file kept, if useful and available

Deciding on Audience and Access

• Intended audience decided (private family, wider family/friends, public)
• Privacy of other people featured considered
• Children's images considered, if relevant
• Sensitive personal or medical information reviewed
• Access method chosen (direct sharing, private link, physical copy)

Music and Publication

• Confirmed whether the video will be shared beyond private/family use
• Music and copyright considerations checked before any online sharing
• Public versus private version considered, if applicable

Long-Term Preservation

• Responsible archive owner identified
• More than one storage location used
• Family members given agreed access
• File tested after copying or transferring
• Future review date considered (e.g. checking the file still opens correctly)

If Updating Later

• Original approved version preserved separately
• Reason for update clearly noted (correction, new material, new version for an event)
• Updated version reviewed by family before wider use

About the author

Kathleen G Kathleen G writes and edits Still Frames' guides on planning and personalising a memorial video, with a focus on the family-facing side of the process, what to include, working with limited material, and what comes after the service. Her aim is always the same: practical, calm guidance that doesn't add to an already difficult week.

Reviewed by Scott G.