Classified advertising is launching on Waitaki App next Sunday (May 12) to give locals a means of sharing traditional family and community notices in a more immediate way.

"It's time," app owner Alex Regtien says. "Waitaki App is here to support our community and one thing that's been a source of frustration is not realising when someone in our community has suffered a significant loss or has an event worth celebrating.

"The new service empowers people to share their news directly with the community, quickly and easily."

Death notices and funeral services will be vetted with funeral directors to ensure accuracy of information and adherence with traditional protocols.

"That's why we'll be asking for their details in our online form," Alex says.

"We understand that local providers have systems in place already for newspaper notices but it's a bit of an ask to have them change all their paperwork to include Waitaki App and manage multiple photos and so on.

"So, we're putting it in the hands of families, but with appropriate checks and balances in place."

App co-owner Cara Tipping Smith has lost two dads.

"We didn't have the same last name so people didn't always connect the dots from the traditional funeral notice.

"It's such a difficult time and it all felt like such a rush, trying to let people know and plan everything."

The classifieds service allows people to put in as many words as they wish and up to three photos for a flat fee of $29 +GST.

"The price has been a topic of discussion", says Alex. "It's not a profit-maker, but we think that's a price point that will cut out any pranksters and be somewhat sustainable.

"I'm not the flashest with formatting photos and that sort of thing, so we'll be doing that for people at our end which takes a little bit of time."

But it's not just about losses, Cara says.

"It's as much about our celebrations.

"I used to love knowing who was engaged or getting married, who'd had a baby, who had a significant birthday, whose marriage had lasted 40 years, and this means we have a way of sharing those significant milestones and the joy including what we all love to see - photos."

The new service is launching on Mother's Day with a special tribute to local mums.

"We're inviting locals to try out the new service for free by ordering a special Mother's Day tribute to go live on the app on May 12," Alex says.

People can share their tribute from the app via email, messaging or social media from midnight before Mother's Day. You can order your free Mother's Day tribute here.