Reliability
Our continuity commitment
A dead man's switch is only worth setting up if it's still there when it's needed — sometimes years later. Here's exactly how we make sure deadkey.net is, and what happens if it ever winds down.
deadkey.net is built so it can't quietly disappear while your record still needs it. That isn't a vague reassurance — it rests on three concrete, verifiable commitments.
1 — Online until the last secret expires
We will not shut deadkey.net down while any customer's secret is still live. Every record expires within 3 years, so we keep the service running until the last active record has reached its natural end. No one is ever cut off early.
2 — The domain is always registered at least 5 years ahead
We keep deadkey.net registered and paid for at least 5 years into the future at all times — far beyond the life of any record you could create today, and renewed well before it ever runs down. The most common way a small service quietly dies is a lapsed domain; ours cannot.
3 — A reserve fund is already in place for 36+ months
A dedicated reserve account is already funded to cover the service's running costs — hosting, domain, and message delivery — for at least 36 months, even if something happens to the founder. The service keeps paying its own bills automatically, with no one needing to lift a finger.
If we ever wind the service down
Because of commitment 1, a shutdown can only ever happen after every active record has already expired — so winding down never strands a live secret. If we ever decide to stop offering new records, we will post notice on this page and email the contacts we have on file well in advance.
You also never have to wait on us in the meantime. After a countdown ends, a trusted person can retrieve a released secret directly from the trigger page using the email and code on their Recovery Sheet, and an owner can permanently delete a record at any time. Access rides on the paper you already hold, not on any single email or link from us.
Why we can make these promises
deadkey is zero-knowledge: we never hold your secret, only small encrypted coordinates that are meaningless without your trusted person's codebook. That tiny, portable data footprint is exactly what lets us guarantee availability — there is very little to run, and its cost is measured in cents per record over its entire life.
deadkey.net is operated by Zero Trust Holdings LLC, a registered company — not a single personal account — so responsibility for the service can outlast any one person.
Questions about reliability?
See the FAQ or reach us through the contact form. We're happy to put the specifics in writing.
This page states our current operating commitments and is updated if they change.