What is a dead man's switch email?

A dead man's switch email is a message that sends automatically if you fail to confirm you're still alive or active. You schedule a check-in cadence; if you miss it, after a grace period and reminders the system emails your pre-written letters, files, and instructions to the recipients you chose.

How is a deadman switch email different from a scheduled email?

A scheduled email sends on a fixed date. A deadman switch email only sends if you stop checking in — so if you keep checking in, it never sends. That makes it suitable for end-of-life delivery without committing to a date.

Can I send different items to different people?

Yes. Each beneficiary receives only the items you've assigned to them. Your lawyer can get the will, your spouse can get the password vault, and your business partner can get a continuity doc — from the same switch.

What happens if I miss a check-in by accident?

Killswitch sends a multi-stage sequence of reminders by email (and SMS if enabled) before the switch fires. A single missed check-in does not trigger delivery — there is a deliberate grace window.

Dead Man's Switch · Email Delivery

A Dead Man's Switch That Actually Emails Your People

Write the letters, upload the documents, record the videos. If you stop checking in, Killswitch emails everything to the people you chose — automatically, encrypted end-to-end, and on your timeline.

Start Free 7-Day Trial How the Encryption Works

What is a deadman switch email?

A deadman switch email (also spelled dead man's switch email or dead man switch email) is a message that gets sent automatically if you fail to confirm you're still around. The mechanism is simple: you schedule a recurring check-in. If you miss it, after a grace period the system emails your pre-written letters, files, and instructions to the people you chose.

People use it for digital estate planning, journalism source protection, founder continuity, military deployments, and making sure a spouse or family member can actually get into accounts when it matters.

How Killswitch's email delivery works

Write your messages. Compose letters, upload documents, record video messages, store passwords. Everything is encrypted in your browser before it ever reaches our servers.
Pick your recipients. Add each beneficiary's email and choose which items they receive. Different people can receive different things.
Set your check-in cadence. Daily, weekly, monthly — whatever fits. We email you a one-click check-in link on schedule.
Miss a check-in, get reminders. We follow up multiple times across days before anything fires. Plenty of room for vacations, sickness, or a dead phone.
Switch fires. Each beneficiary gets an email with secure access to exactly the items you assigned them.

Zero-knowledge encryption

Your files are encrypted with a key derived from your password, in your browser. We never see the key, the password, or the contents — and neither can anyone who breaches our database.

Per-beneficiary delivery

Your lawyer gets the will. Your spouse gets the password vault. Your business partner gets the operations doc. One switch, separate envelopes.

Generous reminder window

Multi-stage email + SMS reminders before anything fires. A missed check-in won't auto-detonate your estate over a long weekend.

You can revoke anytime

Change recipients, swap files, edit messages, pause the switch, or cancel entirely. The switch is yours until it fires.

Why email a deadman switch instead of using Google Inactive Account Manager?

Google's Inactive Account Manager only releases Google-account data and only after 3-18 months of total inactivity. It can't send a custom letter, deliver a will PDF that isn't in Drive, or hand off a password vault. A dedicated dead man's switch email service gives you check-in cadence you control, recipients you pick per-item, and encryption Google never had.

Read the full Google vs. Killswitch comparison →

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7-day free trial on Starter. No card required to start. 30-day money-back guarantee on Pro and Legacy.

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