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Lost letters
Write to nobody in particular. Somewhere in the world, someone will open it.
I’m writing without knowing where this letter will end up, which is half the fun…
Someone in Buenos Aires
How lost letters work
- Write to anyone. A lost letter has no address. It goes into the pile, unsigned, with your stamp on it.
- One finds you, every so often. Every day or so, a lost letter from the pile finds its way to you, travelling the real distance from wherever it was written. Older letters are more likely to turn up.
- Hold up to three. You can hold three lost letters at a time.
- Five days to answer. If you don’t write back within five days, the letter goes back to the pile for someone else to find, with its stamp still on it. It won’t come back to you.
- The first answer wins. Whoever answers first starts a conversation with the writer, and keeps the stamp.
Are lost letters safe?
Every lost letter is checked before it goes into the pile, like every other letter in Hasty. Lost letters never carry the writer’s name or address, and you can report or block any letter you find.
Why write to a stranger?
Because you don’t know who’ll read it. People write about their morning, their city, the thing they can’t stop thinking about, and ask a question at the end. The reply, when it comes, is from someone you’d never have found on your own.
Updated 2026-10-08
Questions people ask
Can I write letters to strangers?
Yes. On Hasty, a lost letter is written to anyone, and finds its way to a stranger somewhere in the world. Writing letters to strangers is how many lifelong pen pals start.
Are lost letters anonymous letters?
Partly. A lost letter carries no name or address, so it’s an anonymous letter to whoever finds it. If they answer, you start a conversation and learn each other’s names.
What about unsent letters?
Unsent letters are letters you write but never post, to say what you need to say. A lost letter is the opposite: it’s always sent, just not to anyone in particular.