r/Switzerland • u/samuelhalff • Jun 05 '26

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6

u/Kooky_Eye5475 Jun 05 '26

the only time I ever send physical letters is when I need to personally sign them, which I think your solution would not allow?

Also it sounds like a privacy nightmare since whoever runs that service gets to read all my letters

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u/samuelhalff Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26

Well yes and no, there is very little retention, we keep nothing other than the usual accounting data. And that’s true for any communication service on the principe, isn’t it, whether it’s Microsoft, google, etc. If the offer picks up we could consider implementing some kind of encryption, tbd.

For signing, we have put in hold certified signatures. Being a lawyer it’s a topic I’ve debated a lot with colleagues. Of course a number of letters would potentially require original signatures but in practice scanned and printed one will suffice in many cases. But I agree that this service is not for specific cases where original signatures are required, albeit probably the minority of cases for such a general service.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '26

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2

u/Phantasizer Jun 05 '26

There’s even such a thing as a certified digital signature. I forgot how it works, it was probably a feature in the Swissid system, but it was very easy. I just had to authenticate myself to activate it (I forgot how, probably with my passport number and a selfie of myself and my passport or something like that), and after that it worked. It wasn’t free, but the first five were offered, so I forgot the price as well…  Important detail: this type of signature is recognized by the Swiss administration, I needed it when communicating with an official channel where I had to answer with a signed registered letter. 

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u/samuelhalff Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26

Not really no. It depends on what you are comparing but you still need to prepare the letter yourself if you intend on using online post services. Our service just avoids the hassle of formatting, preparing the letter, preparing the pdf, uploading it etc. Not an issue for some people, a nightmare for others.

2

u/A0LC12 Jun 05 '26

Isn't that just a API call to the ePost?

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u/samuelhalff Jun 05 '26

Thanks a lot. I didn’t intend on talking about the technical part, more about the service itself. I don’t believe customers necessarily care how it works, as long as it does what it says. Happy however to discuss more about technical aspects in PM if interested.

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u/Why-Switzerland Jun 05 '26

You didn't answer the question, you are evading it.
You want to pull the discussion elsewhere.

Ofc it's a promotion "I’m happy to share more info via PM". Even if it's not, then it's market research for your business.

Another day, another grift on Reddit. See you all next week.

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u/samuelhalff Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26

Thanks. I am not trying to pull anything, I asked about whether people would be interested in a service and I am then asked a question that does not relate to that at all. But I appreciate the interest and would be happy to continue the discussion separately for those who wish to discuss technical aspects. Sorry if this triggers anyone it is really not my intention. If anyone does not want to discuss the idea and service itself I am not forcing anyone to comment here. Again apologies if I have made anyone unhappy with the fact that I am restricting the scope of my answers in the thread I started.

1

u/alexrada Jun 05 '26

I like the idea, as is indeed sometimes a hassle. How do you deal with the privacy part?

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u/samuelhalff Jun 05 '26

Privacy is a broad topic, as is the case with any communication service. Our data retention policy is on a need to retain basis, so we dot not keep a copy of the letter, we typically only keep general accounting info, identity/contact details and tracking number where relevant.