KeepsakeCheck-in schedule
The honest version of a dead-man's switch. You tell the portal how often you will check in. If a check-in is missed, we email you, then email you again, then email the person you named — and then stop.
- Keepsake holds no share, no key and no copy of any document. The check-in schedule can tell your deputy to open the envelope; nobody here can open it, and nobody here can tell them what is inside.
- A check-in is a date on our server and nothing else. If it stops, the only thing that happens is an email — no vault changes, no document moves, nothing is released, and nothing stops working.
- Two shares open the vault. That is the whole design: it trades "Keepsake can never help you" for "two people you chose can". Choose the two holders on that basis.
- The deputy needs a copy of the vault files as well as two shares. Those live in your own cloud or on your own disk, so tell the deputy where — the card has a line for it, and we never see what you write there.
What we send, and when we stop
| When | To | Saying |
|---|---|---|
| The day it falls due | You | One line and one link. Checking in takes a click and resets the schedule. |
| 7 days after it falls due | You | The same message, and the date your deputy would be written to, so the deadline is never a surprise. |
| 30 days after it falls due | The person you named | The deputy is told that the owner asked us to write if they had not checked in for a month, what they are holding, and what to do with it. It says plainly that we hold nothing and can open nothing. After this we stop writing to anybody about this vault. |
| After that | Nobody | Silence. There is no fourth email — a schedule that keeps writing is arguing with somebody who has already decided. |
Set one up
You need a Keepsake account to hold the date and the address. Sign in Create an account
The account is for this page and your licences. It is not a way into your vault: the apps never sign in to anything, and this server has never held a key to one.
The card in the envelope
This card is printed inside the Paper Vault binder. It holds no password, no recovery words and no share — only what to do with the one you were given.
It is printed at the back of the Paper Vault binder, which every Keepsake app exports. Cut it out, seal it with one share, and the person holding it has the instructions whether or not they have ever heard of us.