The file your family opens if something happens to you.
Who to call. Where things are. How to get into your phone. What you want. Written once, kept encrypted, and opened only by the people you name — after they prove who they are.
Takes about twenty minutes. No master password to lose.
Each keyholder gets a card like this. It has the address and a code — nothing else. The code alone opens nothing.
Why a password isn't enough
Every other "digital vault" protects your file with a master password. That works right up to the moment you're the one who can't type it. A sticky note in a drawer is the usual workaround, and it's the weakest link in the whole plan.
Keys replaces the password with a person. Your keyholder proves it's them — their phone, their license, their face — and you get a message every time. If you're fine, one tap cancels it. If you don't answer, the file opens after the waiting period you chose.
What goes in it
- People to call first. The first hour is phone calls. Make the list so nobody has to guess.
- Where things are. Most of the chaos after an emergency is searching. Say where it is.
- Money, insurance and bills. Keyholders need to know what exists and who to call, not log in.
- The house, the kids, the animals. Daily life has to keep running. Write down what only you know.
- Phones, computers and accounts. A locked phone can stall everything. Leave the way in.
- Wishes and instructions. This is the part people most regret not having. Be plain.
- Documents. The will, the directive, the policy, the deed.
- Letters. A note that only one person gets to read.