Guide
Dead man's switch vs. the other ways to pass on your passwords and crypto
There are five common ways to leave your passwords, accounts, and crypto seed phrase to someone you trust — and a sixth built specifically for the job. Here's an honest side-by-side of what each one does well, where each falls short, and how to choose.
A dead man's switch is a mechanism that holds a secret and releases it only if you stop responding — so you hand nothing over while you're active, and there's a built-in grace period to stop a false alarm. It's one of several ways to solve the same underlying problem: how do you make sure the right person can reach your accounts and crypto if you die or become incapacitated, without giving away your secrets today? Below are the main options, what each is good for, and the trade-offs.
The options at a glance
Scroll the table sideways to see every column →
| Method | Keeps your secrets private today? | Works for a crypto seed phrase? | Triggers on incapacity, not only death? | Grace period to stop a false alarm? | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share your credentials now | No — they have full access today | Yes, but exposed now | N/A — always on | No | Free |
| Write it in your will | No — wills are read by others and go through probate | Unsafe — never write a seed in a legal document | No — death only | No | Lawyer fees |
| Password-manager legacy access | Yes, for that one vault | Only if the seed is stored in the manager | Sometimes (inactivity timer) | Yes (waiting period) | Subscription |
| Paper in a safe or safe-deposit box | Yes, if it stays sealed | Yes | Only if someone can access it in time | No | Box rental |
| Crypto multisig / Shamir backup | Yes | Yes — purpose-built for it | Only with a separate arrangement | No | Free–hardware; crypto-only |
| Zero-knowledge dead man's switch (deadkey) | Yes — servers store only encrypted coordinates | Yes — dedicated seed-phrase mode | Yes | Yes — a 10-day cancelable countdown | Flat $3.00, one time |
Which one is right for you?
- You just want one vault covered and already pay for a password manager: its built-in legacy/emergency access is the simplest fit — as long as everything you care about lives inside that vault.
- You mainly hold self-custody crypto and are technical: multisig or a Shamir (SLIP-39) backup split among trusted people is robust and battle-tested — but it's crypto-only and has no built-in "if I go quiet, release it" trigger.
- You want one plan that covers passwords, a PIN, and a crypto seed, releases on incapacity as well as death, and never exposes the secret today: that's the exact gap a dead man's switch fills.
Where deadkey.net fits
deadkey.net is a zero-knowledge dead man's switch. You protect a secret you already have — a password, a PIN, or a crypto seed phrase — by splitting it against a one-time codebook. The servers only ever store encrypted coordinates they cannot read; the codebook that decodes them lives on paper, with the person you choose.
If that person believes you've died or become incapacitated, they start a 10-day countdown. You're notified immediately and can cancel with one tap. If you don't, they retrieve the secret — decoded entirely on their side. There's no account to create, up to two trusted people are included, each record lasts three years, and it's a flat $3.00. For crypto specifically, the seed-phrase mode is designed so your words never touch a computer.
New to the idea? Start with what happens to your passwords and crypto when you die, or see how the security model works.
Leave access — not your credentials
Set up a deadkey in a few minutes: choose what to protect, name a trusted person, print one sheet. Nothing is released unless you stop responding to the countdown.
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Questions? Send them through our contact form.