Dead man's switch.
If you stop checking in, your control file gets released to the people you choose. Crypto inheritance without a lawyer.
How it works.
Set a check-in schedule.
Choose how often you need to confirm you're alive. Every 30 days, every 90 days, whatever fits your risk profile. You'll get an email reminder before each deadline.
Upload your encrypted control file.
Your control file is stored encrypted in the vault. You designate one or more recipients by email address. They get nothing until the switch triggers.
Miss a check-in, trigger the release.
If you miss your check-in window, a grace period starts. After the grace period, the system emails your recipients with the encrypted control file and instructions for decryption.
Check in, reset the clock.
One click resets the timer. As long as you check in, nothing happens. Your recipients don't even know the switch exists.
Use cases.
Crypto inheritance
Your family gets access to your real wallet if something happens to you. No lawyers, no probate, no third-party custody.
Whistleblower insurance
Documents release automatically if you're silenced. The existence of the switch is itself a deterrent.
Business continuity
A co-founder or CTO disappears. Critical keys, API secrets, and recovery phrases release to the designated backup.
Combined with Shamir
Split your control file into shares. The dead man's switch holds one share. Your trusted contacts hold the others. The switch alone isn't enough - it takes the switch plus at least one other share.
Security model.
Your control file is encrypted before upload (same client-side encryption as the vault). The dead man's switch releases the encrypted blob - not the raw control file. Recipients still need the vault password you gave them separately.
Two layers: the switch delivers the encrypted payload, the vault password (shared out-of-band) decrypts it. Compromise of one layer is not enough.
Coming soon.
The dead man's switch is in development. It requires server-side scheduling, email delivery, and a check-in authentication system. Sign up to be notified when it launches.