Frequently Asked Questions

A dead man's switch is a safety mechanism that activates when someone fails to take regular action. In this context: you check in regularly via our app. If you miss your deadline, we automatically email a decryption key to recipients you specified. This protects against coercion, incapacitation, or death.

We genuinely cannot decrypt your letter even if we wanted to. At registration, you receive two encryption keys: one generated from your token (which we can regenerate), and one completely random key (which only you and your recipients ever have). You encrypt your letter with both keys combined, then destroy both keys and the plaintext letter. We can never access the random key, so we cannot decrypt your letter even if we have your token and find the encrypted file.

£1 = 1 month of protection. Pay any amount ≥ £1. Your account balance depletes at £1/month. Pay £12 for a year, £60 for 5 years, whatever suits you. No subscriptions, no recurring charges, no refunds. Add credit anytime by making another payment with your token in the reference.

If you backed up your token, install the app on a new device and enter it. The service cannot distinguish between devices. If you didn't back it up, you cannot check in again and your deadline will eventually expire, releasing the key.

No. We have no password reset mechanism. This is by design - we cannot access your account even if we wanted to. Your token is your only credential. Back it up securely.

No. Mailing lists are immutable after contract creation. This prevents coercion scenarios: "Change my mailing list or else." Double-check recipient addresses before submitting.

You get a grace period (7-30 days) to add credit. During this time, check-ins still work. If the grace period expires without payment, your account is terminated but your current deadline remains active. You must check in one final time to prevent key release, or do nothing and the key will be sent at deadline expiry.

For public disclosure (whistleblowing, journalism): Post to permanent public storage like Usenet (alt.binaries.* groups), IPFS, or blockchain storage. Use multiple locations for redundancy. Recipients get the random key and location information.

For private disclosure (estate planning, personal insurance): Send the encrypted letter directly to your recipients. They hold both the encrypted file and the random key. Only they can decrypt after receiving the server-generated key at deadline.

We recommend discrete transfer outside email when possible:

• In-person handoff (USB stick, paper printout)
• Encrypted email (PGP/GPG)
• Secure messaging (Signal, Wire)
• Postal mail (physical backup media)

Avoid unencrypted email containing the random key - this creates a discoverable trail linking you to your insurance file.

We email the server-generated key to all addresses on your mailing list. Recipients combine this with the random key you previously gave them to decrypt your letter. We never know what the random key is, so we cannot decrypt the letter ourselves.

No. We cannot decrypt them even if we wanted to. You encrypt your letter with two keys: one we can generate from your token, and one completely random key that only you and your recipients have. Without the random key, decryption is impossible. We never see your plaintext letter or the random key.

Report them to police immediately. We cannot decrypt letters (we don't have recipients' random keys), cannot verify if threats are real, and cannot identify clients by name. We cooperate with legitimate law enforcement investigations but we're a neutral infrastructure provider, not accomplices to criminal activity.

No. We only have one of two keys needed for decryption. The random key is held by recipients, not us. Even with a valid court order compelling us to provide everything we have, the letter cannot be decrypted without also obtaining the random key from recipients (which would require separate legal process against them).

Yes. We provide timed email delivery, which is legal. We're comparable to postal services, email providers, or ISPs - neutral infrastructure for communication. What you choose to encrypt and where you store it is your responsibility, not ours.

All active deadlines would expire and keys would be released. This is a feature, not a bug - the dead man's switch still works even if we disappear. The service is designed to fail safe (release keys) rather than fail secure (keep keys forever).

Service launches soon. When live: make payment via bank transfer (include your token if existing account, or leave blank for new account). You'll receive your token and two encryption keys on a one-time display page. Submit your mailing list, encrypt your letter with both keys combined, then either post to public storage or send directly to recipients along with the random key. Check in regularly via the client app.