Step 1: Define one clear delivery

Start with one outcome and one recipient. Examples:

• Give a spouse the estate contacts and household account map • Give an executor the locations of authoritative records • Give an authorised business successor a continuity runbook • Give a technically capable heir the crypto asset inventory and recovery instructions

Do not start by uploading every password and document you own. Write down what this person should know, what they should do first, and which actions require legal, financial, or technical advice.

Step 2: Choose Simple or Private recovery

Choose the recovery boundary before adding sensitive material:

Simple is the default assisted path. Files are encrypted before upload, and ZeroLatch can perform an authorised recovery step when the verified recipient receives access.

Private is self-custody. ZeroLatch does not store the recovery code. If the code is lost or never reaches the recipient, the encrypted files cannot be recovered.

Private is not automatically “better.” It exchanges provider-assisted recovery for a permanent lost-code risk. Use it only if you can preserve and test the separate recovery path.

Step 3: Add and verify the recipient

Enter the recipient's real, durable email address and review it character by character.

Confirm now sends an address-check email that identifies the sender when they permit it. It never reveals the delivery title, message, files, or delivery date. This is recommended because a recognisable request is more trustworthy and verifies the address before a future release.

Keep private until release sends nothing now. Because ZeroLatch cannot test the address, the sender must enter it twice and explicitly accept that risk.

Tell the recipient what a legitimate ZeroLatch notification looks like unless secrecy is essential. They should expect the zerolatch.com domain, should never be asked for payment, and should not forward a release link.

Step 4: How often should a dead man's switch check in?

ZeroLatch currently offers guided check-in presets of 1, 7, 30, 60, 90, or 180 days, followed by a safety period of 0, 1, 7, 14, 21, or 30 days.

New Simple preparations start with a 30-day check-in plus 7 extra waiting days. Existing account schedules are preserved. Change it only after considering travel, illness, account lockout, lost devices, religious observance, incarceration, military deployment, and long periods offline.

The schedule belongs to the account. One deliberate check-in resets the shared clock for every active delivery. Creating or signing into the account does not by itself prove presence.

Step 5: Prepare the draft and add files

Create the draft, then add a short message and the minimum useful files.

Good content is current, labelled, readable on an ordinary device, and clear about the recipient's first step. Include adviser contacts and authoritative record locations before adding raw credentials.

Files are encrypted in the browser before upload. Do not upload malware, unnecessary third-party data, the only copy of a critical record, or a Private password or recovery phrase inside the delivery it unlocks.

A draft cannot release. Protection begins only after it has content, the recipient requirement is satisfied, you review the dates, and you deliberately activate it.

Step 6: Test the recipient path

Before using sensitive information:

  1. Create an unmistakable sample text file.
  2. Upload and activate the synthetic delivery.
  3. Use the intended recipient address on a separate browser or device.
  4. Verify that the email reveals no private sender-selected details.
  5. Complete the one-time email-code step.
  6. Confirm the sender context, message, file, and expiry are understandable.
  7. Download and decrypt the file through the selected Simple or Private path.
  8. Compare the downloaded SHA-256 hash with the original.
  9. Verify expired, revoked, wrong-code, and reused access fails.

Do not call the plan finished because the owner dashboard says “Released.” The meaningful test ends when the intended recipient can recover the unchanged sample file.

Step 7: Activate, check in and maintain it

After activation:

• Check in deliberately from the dashboard before the deadline • Keep the account email, recipient email, files, advisers, and instructions current • Review the delivery at least annually and after major life, family, business, or security changes • Re-test after changing the recovery mode, recipient, devices, email provider, password manager, or important file format • Keep an independent plan for provider shutdown and authoritative physical records

If a check-in deadline passes, ZeroLatch begins the safety period and warns you. The recipient receives nothing during that period. Checking in before the period ends keeps active deliveries on hold.