Trust & Continuity

EchoKindred checks in with you, not on you. If we haven't seen you log in for a while, here's exactly what happens and when.

The check-in

You set your own inactivity window (90 days by default, adjustable down if you want a tighter net). At 75% of that window, we email you a check-in reminder. A single click confirms you're here and resets the clock. That's the only step required to keep things exactly as they are.

The notification

If we still haven't heard from you when the full window passes, we email your designated Digital Executor (and backup executor, if you've named one) to let them know. This is a notification, not an automatic handover. Your vault and stories are not released at this point.

The access request

Your executor can then submit a request through the Executor Portal, which requires its own identity verification before any access is granted. Nothing releases automatically on inactivity alone.

Sudden incapacitation (honest limits)

A 90-day email check-in will not cover a same-week hospital crisis by itself. For that path, name a Digital Executor now, leave an estate access key with your papers, and keep a phone number on your account so emergency-access requests can notify you by SMS. Your executor can request timed emergency access from the heir tools; you (or anyone who can still reach your dashboard) can cancel it. We are not a biometric dead-man's switch and we do not watch hospital admissions.

What this is, plainly

A single-channel, email-based check-in system with a human verification step before access, not a multi-signal or biometric detection system. If your email address changes, update it in Settings; that email is how the routine protocol reaches you.

Today, Download my data in Settings gives you a readable copy of your stories, journal, wisdom, instructions, online accounts list, property, legal documents list, debts, and contacts, any time. Passwords stay out of that file on purpose. Photos and uploaded documents download one by one inside the app; a single bundled media export is not built yet, and we won't claim it's here before it is.

If you delete your account, we delete the data tied to it. That process is irreversible.

You own the data. No company can promise to last forever, and a bankruptcy can override promises. What we commit to: as much notice as we can give, aiming for 90 days, keeping downloads working until the doors close, and posting a retrieval plan here first. We do not have a published wind-down escrow yet. When we do, it will be a real, specific commitment, posted here.

EchoKindred is a storage, storytelling, and continuity platform, not a law firm, and not a substitute for one.

The documents you can generate here (wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives) are intent and wish summaries: they capture your decisions and preferences clearly, for your family and executor, in your own words. They are not a substitute for a licensed attorney's review, and we recommend one before treating any of them as your final, executed estate plan. Requirements vary meaningfully by state, and we don't provide state-specific legal review.

What EchoKindred does do well: give your executor and family a single, secure, organized place to find your accounts, your stories, your wishes, and your instructions, instead of scattered notes, old passwords, and guesswork, at the moment they can least afford confusion.

Medication lists and provider notes are private family organization. They are not a HIPAA medical record and not a substitute for the chart at a clinic or hospital.

For the day-of path, including who is notified, how Maya would verify, and what stays read-only, see the executor walkthrough.

In plain terms: the sensitive details you file are encrypted, so they cannot be read if someone gets hold of the stored files, and they are only decrypted to show them back to you. The technical detail: vault locators and other sensitive fields you choose to file are encrypted at rest with AES-256, using AES-256-GCM, which also detects tampering. Keys are versioned, so when we rotate a key, older data stays readable under its original key while new data uses the current one. Nothing is decrypted client-side; decryption happens only in a locked-down server function, only for your authenticated session. Product guidance (and the Privacy Policy) is the same as Security: store institution names, last-four masks, and where the paper or password manager lives, not full passwords, PINs, or complete account numbers.

All traffic between your device and EchoKindred is protected with TLS.

Your data is never sold or used for ad targeting. On AI processing specifically: when you use the Biographer or filing help, the text you are working on is sent to Google's Gemini API, and Google's handling of it is governed by Google's API terms. EchoKindred does not train AI models on your archive.

How is death verified beyond the inactivity window?

EchoKindred does not certify death. The Continuity Protocol is an inactivity check-in plus a human request step. After the window lapses, your Digital Executor is notified and must verify identity in the Executor Portal before anything releases. In a sudden crisis, they can also request timed emergency access; you (or anyone who can still reach your dashboard) can cancel that request. We do not receive hospital records or probate filings automatically. Keep a phone number on file so emergency requests can SMS you, and leave an estate access key with your papers.

Can heirs be removed or archives transferred after the fact?

While you are alive and signed in, you can add, remove, or change permissions for successors and executors in Family & Permissions. After continuity has released access, authorized heirs get a read-only view of what you granted. They cannot rewrite your instructions or reassign your archive to someone you did not name. Ownership of the archive stays with your account; heirs do not receive a transferable “move this vault to my login” switch. If you need a different arrangement after death (for example legal transfer of digital assets), that is handled outside EchoKindred with your attorney and the institutions that hold the accounts.