Published Oct 2026
Going out on a limb on this one.
Candidly? I think "death tech" is getting something very wrong.
In recent years, there's been a growing number of tech-industry alums who've turned their attention to building consumer-facing digital solutions around end-of-life, grief support, and estate settlement. We call this niche "death tech." I see a new app or digital tool seemingly every week.
When I reflect on these tools, I keep coming back to a product-development framework created my former mentor, Jen Cardello, at Fidelity: Right Problem / Right Solution / Done Right.
The premise of RP / RS / DR is simple: a useful and usable product has to solve a real human problem, employ the right kind of solution for that problem, and be designed for usability.
And when I look at consumer-facing death tech through that lens, I think the industry is getting only two out of three right.
Death-tech founders are honing in on an important problem. Many of these digital solutions were born from the founders' personal experiences combined with the demographic reality of aging Boomers. Indeed, as older Americans age and pass away, GenX and Millennials will have to make space for grief and estate administration among all the other demands on their limited bandwidth. There are unmet needs for miles.
Additionally, death tech products tend to be pretty slick and usable. They're following the design heuristics and getting the micro-interactions right. Bravo!
The problem, I think, is in the middle of the framework. For many of the hardest parts of grief and estate administration, software alone isn’t the Right Solution.
To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. So it's natural that people with tech expertise go from "falling in love with the problems" of grief and estate administration to building a slick app.
I have a tech background, too. But I worked on the human side of technology as a user researcher. My master's degree is in Human Factors in Information Design. I spent most of my time interviewing people, getting them to open up about their needs, motivations, and aspirations.
And in my many years of interviewing people, a refrain I heard over and over again from participants of all ages was that when it matters---when the stakes are high---no amount of reassuring content on an interface can take the place of the words spoken by a kind and knowledgeable human being.
I also saw over and over again that people will procrastinate the things they know they should do until they have a human accountability partner. Notifications can be dismissed and silenced. The social contract makes it friction-y to skip an appointment with a person. And in times of loss, personal connection can matter enormously.
Friends, the solution matters. And when it comes to dealing with loss, an app ain't it.
Consumer-facing "death tech" can certainly be part of a right solution. Tech is great for organizing information, automating routine tasks, tracking progress, and prompting action. Not so great at handling the emotionally and spiritually profound realities of grief.
An app or digital tool also may be excellent as a B2B solution that enables professionals to scale their services to clients.
But for grieving families? A technical solution should only be part of the service model.
A better model, in my opinion?
Use technology and AI behind the scenes to make the work faster, smarter, and more affordable. But when the stakes are high, keep a kind and knowledgeable human at the center of the service.
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For informational purposes only; not legal or financial advice.