How it works
From your hands to theirs
- 1
Write
Available todayLetters, video messages, a vault for important information, your life story. Write at your own pace, in your own words — everything is private until you decide otherwise.
- 2
Choose who, and when
Available todayAddress each letter to a specific person and choose its delivery preference: held for your trusted contacts, sent on a specific date, or released after your death is confirmed. You can change any of it, anytime.
- 3
Invite your trusted contacts
Available todayTrusted contacts are the human layer of the system — people you choose, invited by email, who can confirm what happened and receive the access you've granted. This works today, and it's the single most important step.
- 4
Stay in control
Available todayEdit or delete anything. Export your letters anytime, free, to keep your own copies. Your words are never locked in.
How delivery is designed to work
In developmentAutomated check-ins and automated delivery are in active development — we won’t pretend otherwise. Today, delivery works through your trusted contacts: invite them (which works now), and tell them about your account. Here is the system we’re building:
- 01
Periodic check-ins
We email you on a schedule you choose, asking for a simple “I’m okay.”
- 02
A grace period
Missed check-ins never trigger anything by themselves. A waiting period begins, with repeated attempts to reach you through multiple channels.
- 03
Your people confirm
Your trusted contacts are notified and asked to confirm what happened. No algorithm decides you've died — people who love you do.
- 04
Only then, delivery
Letters marked for after-death delivery go to the recipients you named. Everything else stays exactly as private as you set it.
What you should do today
Two things make your letters resilient no matter what — resilient even against us:
- Tell someone. Invite at least one trusted contact and make sure they know your account exists. A service like this should never be a secret from everyone.
- Keep your own copies. Export your letters anytime, free. We genuinely encourage it — your words should outlive any single service, including this one.
Questions people ask
- How do you know when I've died?
- Delivery is designed around layers of confirmation, not a single signal: periodic check-in emails, a grace period after missed check-ins, and finally your trusted contacts — real people you chose — confirming what happened before anything is delivered. The automated check-in system is still in development, so today your trusted contacts are the mechanism. Invite them, and make sure they know your account exists. See how delivery works
- Is automated delivery live today?
- Not yet — and we'd rather say that plainly than let you assume otherwise. You can write letters, choose recipients, and set delivery preferences today, and your trusted contacts can be invited today. The automated check-in and delivery system is in active development. Until it ships, delivery works through your trusted contacts, which is why telling them about your account matters. Read the full status
- What should I tell my trusted contacts?
- Tell them your account exists and what you'd want them to do. Trusted contacts are the human layer of the system: they can be notified, asked to confirm what happened, and given access you've chosen to grant. A service like this works best when at least one person you trust knows it's there. See their role in delivery
- What happens if When I Die Files shuts down?
- We've made four commitments: at least 12 months advance notice to every user, all scheduled deliveries executed before shutdown, a full export of your data provided to you, and the option to transfer your data to a designated successor service. These commitments are written into our Terms of Service, not just a blog post. Read our continuity commitments