DeadSwitchEmergency card
Assigned to
Margaret Ellison
Card secret
7F3A · 91C2 · E04B · 6D18
For the people you’d leave behind
When you’re gone, they’re not locked out.
A dead man’s switch for passwords, accounts, keys, documents, and a message. On a drive you hold, or in the browser. Delivered only to the people you named, and only if you stop checking in.
- AES-256-GCM-SIVEncrypted on your device with Argon2id. Never on ours.
- Runs from the USBNo installation. No admin rights. Unplug it and the app is gone.
- Drive or cloudUSB is $75 once, check-in included. Cloud is monthly, from $5.99.
- Zero-knowledgeNever your master password or vault contents. We do hold account and beneficiary metadata.
A switch, not a safe.
The switch
Four steps, then a check-in on your interval.
Setting it up takes an evening. Keeping it current takes seconds. The part that matters happens without you.
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Fill it
Plug it in and add what matters: accounts, documents, keys, instructions, and anything you would want said. It encrypts as it lands.
Nothing gets installed on the host computer
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Name them
Add the people who should receive it, how to reach them, and which parts belong to whom. Each person gets a printable emergency card.
Per-person access control
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Check in
Choose 7, 14, or 30 days. DeadSwitch messages you. Click the link, or reply ALIVE, and the clock resets.
You can cancel at any stage before release
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If you can’t
Reminders escalate. Then a 72-hour grace. Only then does each person receive their own key and instructions.
Release is irreversible
14-day interval
- Day 14Check-in dueAn email. Drive owners, Cloud Plus and Cloud Max can also text. One click resets the clock.
- Day 17ReminderStill no answer? A reminder on every channel you have set up.
- Day 28Grace periodA fixed 72-hour window, with a final notice 24 hours before it ends.
- Day 31ReleaseEach person receives their code and instructions. Irreversible from here.
Shown for a 14-day interval. On 7 days the whole sequence takes about 17 days; on 30 days, about 63. Grace is always 72 hours. Any check-in before release cancels it.
The vault
Your vault lives on a drive you own.
Plug it in, enter your master password, and you’re in. Unplug it, and the app is not on the host. Store eight kinds of items. If someone steals the drive, they get a brick.
Passwords & logins
Websites, apps, the account only you can open.
Financial accounts
Bank, brokerage, retirement — with the context a password manager never holds.
Crypto wallets
Seed phrases and recovery details, written for someone who is not you.
Documents
Deeds, titles, tax records, the files in a folder only you know exists.
Insurance policies
Life, health, property, auto — who to call, and where the papers are.
Medical information
Conditions, medications, providers.
Legal documents
Power of attorney, trusts, contracts.
Personal messages
Text, video, and audio, assigned to whoever you choose.
AES-256-GCM-SIV · Argon2id, 128 MiB · SQLCipher · nothing installed on the host. Import from 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass, or KeePass.
Who gets what
You decide who gets what.
Your spouse gets the financial accounts. Your children get the messages. Your business partner gets the company credentials. Nobody sees what was not meant for them.
- 1Nothing to install, no account, no password of yours. They plug in the drive, or open a link for a cloud vault, and enter their code.
- 2Two codes, two places. In Key Split, which we recommend, one code arrives by email at release and the other is on the card you gave them in person. Neither works alone.
- 3Only what you assigned. Read-only. On the drive it never expires. A cloud release link works once and expires after 30 days.
Own a drive outright
The object, or three of them.
Check-in service included. Cloud is optional, and the same price with or without a drive.
USB Vault $75 once
One preloaded drive. Runs from the stick on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Up to 25 beneficiaries, each with their own emergency card.
- Audio and video messages, no length limit, as many as the drive holds
- Email and SMS check-ins
- Assign specific items to specific people
- Test My Switch: rehearse the release safely
- No subscription required
- 30-day guarantee on unopened drives
- Opened drives cannot be returned
Family Bundle $199 once
Three independent vaults. You keep one. Two claim codes go to the other two owners. $66.33 per drive.
- Everything in the USB Vault, three times
- Each seat is its own account
- Two claim codes, emailed after checkout
- Up to 25 beneficiaries per seat
- Not a shared vault
- Check-in included for all three seats
- Unopened-drive guarantee
Optional · monthly
The same switch, in the browser.
Encrypted before it uploads. Add it to a drive, or use it on its own. Drive owners already get 25 beneficiaries, assignment, Test My Switch, SMS check-ins, and video messages without a cloud plan.
Basic
Cloud Basic
$5.99 / month
- 1 beneficiary
- 500 MB encrypted storage
- Audio messages, no length limit
- Recordings are limited only by your storage
- Email check-ins
- That one person receives everything
Plus
Cloud Plus
$9.99 / month
- 3 beneficiaries
- 2 GB encrypted storage
- Audio and video messages, video at 1080p
- Recordings are limited only by your storage
- Email and SMS check-ins
- Assign items per person
- Test My Switch
- USB Cloud Backup with a drive
Max
Cloud Max
$19.99 / month
- Up to 25 beneficiaries
- 10 GB encrypted storage
- Audio and video messages, video at 1080p
- Recordings are limited only by your storage
- Email and SMS check-ins
- Assign items per person
- Test My Switch
- USB Cloud Backup with a drive
- Priority + onboarding call
| Cloud · monthly | Drives · pay once | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud Basic$5.99 / month | Cloud Plus$9.99 / month | Cloud Max$19.99 / month | USB Vault$75 once | Family$199 once | |
| What you hold | Browser login | Browser login | Browser login | 1 drive | 3 independent drives |
| Beneficiaries | 1 | 3 | Up to 25 | Up to 25 | Up to 25 per seat |
| Encrypted storage | 500 MB | 2 GB | 10 GB | On the drive | On each drive |
| Messages | Audio only | Audio + video, 1080p | Audio + video, 1080p | Audio + video | Audio + video |
| Recording length | No limit — only your storage | No limit — only your storage | No limit — only your storage | No limit — only the drive | No limit — only each drive |
| How many recordings | As many as fit in 500 MB | As many as fit in 2 GB | As many as fit in 10 GB | As many as fit on the drive | As many as fit on each drive |
| Check-ins | Email + SMS | Email + SMS | Email + SMS | Email + SMS | |
| Assign items per person | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Test My Switch | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Emergency cards | Yes (Key Split) | Yes (Key Split) | Yes (Key Split) | Yes (Key Split) | Yes (Key Split) |
| Runs offline | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| USB Cloud Backup | No | With a drive | With a drive | Add Plus or Max | Add Plus or Max |
| Runs on | Any modern browser | Any modern browser | Any modern browser | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Support | Priority + onboarding call | Email, a person | Email, a person | ||
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly | Monthly | No | No |
· · · ·
Billed monthly through Shopify. Cancel any time from Manage subscription on the dashboard. The plan stays active to the end of the paid period, then the vault is read-only. We never delete data for billing reasons. Payment-fail lock after 30 days. Cloud is the same price with or without a drive. USB Cloud Backup needs a drive plus Cloud Plus or Max. Audio and video recordings have no length limit: in the cloud the plan’s encrypted storage is the only ceiling, and on a drive it is the drive’s own capacity. Cloud Plus and Cloud Max record video at 1080p. Cloud Basic records audio only, has one beneficiary, and that person receives everything in the vault. Check-in service is included with every drive. Cloud is optional.
Security
Zero-knowledge, with the list of what that means.
Our servers never see your vault contents. Here is what that means in practice.
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Encrypted before it leaves your hands
Every item is encrypted on your device with a key derived from your master password. The drive holds ciphertext. So does the optional cloud.
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What the server knows, and what it never sees
It holds your email and a hash of your account password, your beneficiaries’ names and contact details, encrypted key shares, check-in timestamps, and, for cloud vaults, item metadata such as category, size, and who each item is assigned to, plus the file names of documents and recordings. It never sees your master password, your encryption key, or the contents of anything in the vault.
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Two security modes
Key Split, the recommended mode, splits each beneficiary’s secret between their printed card and our server; neither half alone can unlock anything. Cloud Stored keeps the full secret with us, encrypted, and needs no card. That mode trades some of this protection for convenience.
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If our server is breached
In Key Split an attacker gets encrypted key shares that are useless without the physical card, plus hashed passwords and contact details. In Cloud Stored we hold the beneficiary secret, encrypted. In neither mode do they get your master password or anything you stored in the vault.
- Vault data
- AES-256-GCM-SIVNonce-misuse-resistant authenticated encryption
- Key derivation
- Argon2id · 128 MiB · 3 passesMemory-hard; resists GPU brute force
- Media files
- XChaCha20-Poly1305192-bit random nonces, per-file keys
- Database
- SQLCipherEncrypted SQLite at rest on the drive
- Key shares
- XOR split · 128-bit card secretCard half never stored server-side
- Account password
- scrypt hashThis is the account password, not the vault master password
- Release links
- Single-use · 30-day expiryLock permanently after five wrong codes
- Updates
- Ed25519-signedUnsigned or mismatched builds are refused
Read the full security model. Found something? Responsible disclosure: security@dead-switch.com
Where it sits
Built for the day you can’t be there.
| Feature | DeadSwitch | Password managers | Google Inactive Account Manager | Paper list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automated detection (dead man’s switch) | Yes | No | Partial | No |
| Per-person access control | Yes | Partial | Partial | No |
| Offline, on a drive you own | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| End-to-end encrypted | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Video and audio messages | Yes | No | No | No |
| One-time payment | Yes | Partial | Partial | Partial |
Comparison reflects publicly documented category behaviour as of September 2026, not every SKU. DeadSwitch: USB Vault and Family Bundle are one-time purchases; Cloud Vault is optional and monthly. Per-person assignment is included on USB, Family, Cloud Plus, and Cloud Max — not Cloud Basic. Offline storage applies to the USB. Password managers are built for daily use; some offer request-based emergency access, not an inactivity switch. Google Inactive Account Manager can share some Google-account data after inactivity; it is not a vault. Paper is offline and free; no detection, no encryption, goes stale. DeadSwitch is not a replacement for a password manager or a will.
Questions
Asked before buying. Answered plainly.
Need more detail? The documentation covers how it works, the security model, and what beneficiaries need to know.
What is DeadSwitch?
A portable encrypted USB vault with a dead man’s switch. You store passwords, accounts, keys, documents, and optional video or audio messages. If you stop checking in, after reminders and a grace period, each person you named receives only what you assigned them. Cloud is optional.
Do I need a subscription?
No, not for the drive. The USB Vault ($75) and Family Bundle ($199) are one-time purchases and include the check-in service. Cloud Vault plans are optional and billed monthly. Drive owners can add a plan later from the dashboard.
How does the switch work?
Check in every 7, 14, or 30 days. Check-ins come by email; drive owners, Cloud Plus and Cloud Max can add SMS. Click the link, reply ALIVE, or sign in to the dashboard. On a 14-day interval: due on day 14, reminder on day 17, a 72-hour grace from day 28 (final notice 24 hours before it ends), release on day 31. About 17 days total on a 7-day interval; about 63 on a 30-day. Grace is always 72 hours. Any check-in before release resets the clock.
What if I miss a check-in by accident?
You get reminders, then a 72-hour grace with a final notice. You can cancel any time before release. Once release happens, it cannot be recalled. Test My Switch rehearses the whole path without releasing — included for drive owners, and on Cloud Plus and Max.
What if I forget my master password?
It cannot be recovered. Not by us, not by a beneficiary, not by a support tool. That is the cost of us not being able to read the vault. Make a backup drive from Settings after you set up.
Does this replace a will?
No. A will decides who gets what in the eyes of the law. DeadSwitch is how the people you chose actually get in: the passwords, the keys, the accounts, and the words you wanted to leave. DeadSwitch is not a law firm and is not a substitute for a will or for legal advice.
What do you store on your servers?
Never the master password, never the encryption key, never vault contents. We do hold: your email, a hash of your account password, beneficiary names and contacts, encrypted key shares, check-in timestamps, and for cloud vaults: item metadata (category, size, assignee) plus the file names of documents and recordings.
How do the people I name get in?
At release they get a calm email with steps. They plug in the drive (the app is on it) or open a cloud link, and enter their code. In Key Split, which we recommend, they also need the code on the card you already gave them. Neither half works alone. They see only assigned items, read-only. Cloud links work once, expire in 30 days, and lock after five wrong codes. Access on the drive does not expire.
What if I lose the drive?
A backup clone from Settings still opens with the master password. A stolen drive without that password is a brick. USB Cloud Backup — a drive plus Cloud Plus or Max — can restore the encrypted vault to a new stick. Still useless without the master password.
What if DeadSwitch shuts down?
The vault on the drive still opens with your master password. The check-in and release service would stop. We would tell owners in advance so there is time to hand people access another way. How release works is documented; it is not a secret only we hold.
How is this different from a password manager?
Password managers are for the day you use them. This is for the day you can’t. Keep yours. Import it from 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass, or KeePass. Some managers have emergency access; that is usually someone asking, then waiting, then seeing a vault. Ours fires on silence and gives each person only their items.
What’s the return policy?
Unopened drives: 30-day refund. Opened drives cannot be returned — once the seal is broken, a drive may hold a private vault, and we never take possession of a drive that might. Faulty drives are replaced; we cannot recover data. Cloud is billed monthly; cancel any time from the dashboard. Subscription fees are not refunded for partial billing periods.
Set it up. Check in when we ask.
A drive, or a login.
The switch runs until you tell it not to. If you stop answering, the people you named receive only what you assigned them.
- USB: $75 once, check-in included
- Cloud: monthly, cancel any time
- Drive or browser. Same switch.
Who we are
A small company. A real person answers.
DeadSwitch is an independent company. We sell a drive and run the check-in service behind it. We do not sell vault contents, show ads in the vault, or hold anything from your vault that we could read.
- Support
- support@dead-switch.com
Answered by a person. If you are a beneficiary trying to open a vault, write to us and we will walk you through it. - Security
- security@dead-switch.com
Responsible disclosure. - Documentation
- app.dead-switch.com/docs
How it works, the security model, and the beneficiary guide. - Guarantee
- 30 days on unopened drives
Opened drives cannot be returned. Faulty drives are replaced.
If someone named you
Someone made sure you could get in.
If you’re reading this, a person who cared about you used DeadSwitch so you would have access to information they wanted you to have. This is the short version. There is a full guide if you want it.
Open the full beneficiary guide
What you received
An email with the name of the person who named you, a message they may have written, a unique access code, and steps. This email is real. It is not a scam. If you’re unsure, look for that person’s name.
What you’ll need
The USB drive, or the link in your email. If they used a Cloud Vault, the link is enough and you do not need a drive.
If they gave you a printed card: you need the card and the code in the email. Either one alone will not open it. That is on purpose.
If they did not give you a card: the code in the email is enough.
If you have the USB
- Plug it into a Windows, macOS, or Linux computer. Open the drive. Double-click the DeadSwitch app for that system. Nothing installs.
- Choose Unlock as Beneficiary. Do not try the person’s master password.
- Enter the access code from the email. If you have an emergency card, enter that secret too. Codes are case-sensitive. Copy-paste the email code if you can.
- You will see only what was assigned to you. Other people may have been given different items. That is by design. It is read-only. Video and audio play in the app; take your time. On the drive there is no rush and no expiry. You can come back.
If you have a link instead
- Open the link in the email. It works once and expires 30 days after it was sent. Save what you need when you open it.
- Enter the email code, and the card secret if you were given a card.
- Read-only. Assigned items only.
Five wrong codes lock access permanently. Copy-paste instead of guessing.
If something isn’t working
Can’t find the drive or the card? Check with family, a safe, a lawyer, important papers. Then write to us. We will walk you through it.
support@dead-switch.com — a person answers.