Frequently asked questions

What is a deadkey?

A dead-man switch: it holds an encrypted secret and releases it only if you become unreachable. Most people use it to give a trusted person emergency access to a password manager or encrypted drive.

What's a trusted person?

A trusted person is a person you trust to access your information if you are incapacitated or pass away. You can name up to two, each with their own Recovery Sheet.

What's a codebook, and assisted vs. tin foil hat mode?

A codebook is a random 100-cell mapping of positions to digits or characters. In assisted mode your browser builds it for you; in tin foil hat mode you fill in a blank codebook by hand yourself. Tin foil hat mode is built for the most security-conscious people — those who would rather never type their password or secret into a browser at all. You write the secret into your codebook by hand and enter only coordinates, so the secret itself never touches your computer or ours. Neither mode is cryptographically weaker than the other — they only differ in how much you trust your own computer during setup.

How do I cancel a countdown?

Click the link. The moment a trusted person triggers the switch, we email (and text, if you provided a number) a one-click cancel link to your registered contact. There is no code or token to find.

How much does it cost, and how long does it last?

A flat $3.00, one time, covering up to two trusted people. Each record is valid for 3 years.

What happens if deadkey.net shuts down — or something happens to its founder?

Short version: the service is built so it can't disappear while your record still needs it. Three concrete commitments back that up:

• We stay online until the last record expires — at most 3 years. deadkey.net will not shut down while any customer's secret is still live. Because every record expires within 3 years, no one is ever cut off before their secret's natural end.
• The domain is always registered at least 5 years ahead. deadkey.net is kept paid for far beyond the life of any active record and renewed well before it runs down, so it can't quietly lapse.
• A reserve funds at least 36 months of operation — even if something happens to the founder. A dedicated reserve account is funded, so the service keeps paying its own hosting, domain, and delivery bills automatically, with no one needing to lift a finger.

More detail: read our full continuity commitment.

Is my secret stored on your servers?

No. All cryptographic work happens in your browser. We store only encrypted coordinates — meaningless without your trusted person's codebook.

What's the refund policy?

If your token was never used to create a record, use our contact form and include your Stripe receipt for a refund. Once a record is created, refunds are not available.

How do I delete a deadkey?

Go to deadkey.net/delete and enter the email and the delete code printed on your Owner Receipt. This permanently and immediately destroys the record and every trusted person's access — it cannot be undone. Use it if a Recovery Sheet is lost or stolen, or any time you want to revoke a deadkey.

My trusted person didn't get the release email — can they still get in?

Yes. After the countdown ends they can return to deadkey.net/trigger and re-enter the same email and code from their Recovery Sheet to retrieve the information on screen. The email is just a convenience — access rides on the code they already hold, so a mistyped address never locks them out.