The short version
PRESENCE was founded by people in long distance relationships. Three years, two time zones, too many airport goodbyes. We know what it's like to watch your partner walk through a security gate, to count days until the next visit, to feel that specific kind of lonely that hits hardest at 11 PM on a random Tuesday.
The gifts and tools we recommend? We've tested them ourselves—not as reviewers, but as people who genuinely needed them.
Why We Built This
When we were in our long distance phase, we spent hours searching for gifts that would actually help. Most of what we found was generic gift guide content—"10 Gifts for Long Distance Couples!"—clearly written by people who had never been in one.
The products were fine. The understanding was missing.
We wanted a resource that combined genuine first-hand experience with rigorous research. A place that understood why certain gifts work (anticipation, physical presence substitutes, ambient awareness) and could help people find what would actually help their specific situation.
So we built it.
What Makes Us Different
We test everything ourselves
No product appears on this site without someone on our team using it in a real long distance relationship. We buy products with our own money. We use them for weeks before writing about them. When we say something works, we mean it worked for us.
We understand the psychology
We don't just list products—we explain why they work, grounded in actual relationship research. Understanding the "why" helps you make better choices for your specific situation.
We're transparent about what we sell
PRESENCE also makes products—specifically, time-released digital postcards. When we recommend our own products, we tell you. We also recommend competitors when they're better for certain use cases. Trust matters more than sales.
Our Editorial Philosophy
We prioritize helpfulness over revenue. We'd rather point you to the right product—even if we don't profit from it—than push something just because we earn more. Long-term trust beats short-term revenue.
We write like people, not marketers. No corporate speak, no SEO-stuffed sentences, no pretending to be an authority we're not. We're a small team that cares about this topic. That's it.
We admit when we're wrong. Products change. Our opinions evolve. When something we recommended stops being good, we update our guides. You'll never find outdated recommendations here.
The Name
"Presence" captures what long distance relationships lack and what the best tools try to create. It's not about the physical being together—it's about feeling together. The sense that someone is thinking of you, even when they're on the other side of the world.
That's what we help people create.
Contact
Questions? Suggestions? Disagree with one of our reviews?
Email us: hello@presence.co
We read everything. Can't always respond quickly, but we read everything.
Curious about how we evaluate products? Read our testing methodology.