7 ms·

Show HN: WeExpire.org – Notes readable only after your death

73 points by ciccionamente 4y ago

KomoD 4y ago
* or if you are seriously injured.
- ciccionamente 4y ago
  Yep, that's true! Unfortunately HN title would have been too long with that.
emrecoban 4y ago
Nice idea!
- ciccionamente 4y ago
  Thx.
telesilla 4y ago
Hm please don't trust a service such as this over a decent legal firm, you can find always a reliable solicitor / legal support in your neighborhood.
- ValentineC 4y ago
  One problem with "reliable solicitors" is that it's entirely possible for their firm to go out of business too, with few, if any, repercussions for the proprietors. I'd prefer to trust something like a self-hosted Vaultwarden instance [1] with emergency access [2]. Maybe with redundancy even. [1] https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden [2] https://bitwarden.com/help/emergency-access/ https://bitwarden.com/help/emergency-access/
  - dvngnt_ 4y ago
    true but I trust a well reviewed estate lawyer over any SaaS product
  - RcouF1uZ4gsC 4y ago
    I think that is a solved problem. The legal profession is so old, and they are part of a system, that I would bet that most reliable solicitors have a continuity plan for their clients’ wills and other long terms legal paperwork.
  - easytiger 4y ago
    Solicitors in a civilised country are highly regulated and if they were to cease trading the local regulator will appoint a firm to handle their clients needs
  - BorisMelnik 4y ago
    biggest risk with a technology based solution for this is the person stops paying their hosting bill. I'd like to see this app open source the billing, so in case the person who runs the site disappears, the community can continue playing
    - ciccionamente 4y ago
      We are working with our hosting provider in order to inform the users in case the bad happens on our side and in order to provide 1 more year where the website and the emergency notes can still be accessible (but no emergency notes can be generated).
- h9h9h9 4y ago
  Hm no thanks. I trust these guys far more than I do "my neighborhood solicitor/legal support" and I don't even know who runs the site.
null4bl3 4y ago
[flagged]
- roundandround 4y ago
  I don't see what advantage this has over snailmail to themselves? I think the most likely nefarious thing is the question of intentionally blocking aliveness checks. If the Satoshi heir waited for his keys from this what element would he spend a few million interfering with to get his inheritance early?
- loa_in_ 4y ago
  That's a human issue not a technology issue. There's nothing technology can and should be programmed to even try to deal with, unless probing user's brain for intent is on the table...
davidcollantes 4y ago
I have used https://www.deadmantracker.com https://www.deadmantracker.com since creation. This one seems to be similar but, perhaps, less intrusive—I have to check-in on DMT each week. Neat. The important part is permanence, if the service is to be trusted, and to be useful.
- ciccionamente 4y ago
  Thank you. Dead Man Tracker is a nice tool, however it completely relies on constant email notifications in order to understand if something bad happened (a more complex system to maintain). Also all the personal data is stored in a database that could be breached.
- davchana 4y ago
  Long time ago, about 10 years ago, I thought of similar contraption with already google-verse system. Basically you upload a encrypted file (text or pdf) to google drive with public share link, and add an event to your Google calendar with a 3 month advance notice (& 2 months, 1 months, all by email), one time recurring only. As soon as you get notification email (XYZ is happening in 90 days, you go to Google Calendar & change event month to next 3rd month. But then they released Google Inactivity Manager.
c_ris 4y ago
Interesting idea. If, for some reason, your site goes down, will a note still be readable?
- ciccionamente 4y ago
  The emergency note can be readable only via WeExpire, and that's for security reasons - you always need to be notified that someone is trying to access your emergency note. As any other platform WeExpire could temporarily go down, but it will be always back online before than the minimum inactivity time you can set up in your emergency note (1 day).
  - frollo 4y ago
    Yeah, but platforms fail, go out of business and can have issues. If you use this service (or any other of the ones mentioned in the other comments) you'll need to periodically check that they are ok (and that all your details are up to date).
kobalsky 4y ago
Interesting stuff if you find this thing useful: Google's Inactive Account Manager: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546?hl=en https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546?hl=en Shamir's Secret Sharing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamir%27s_secret_sharing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamir%27s_secret_sharing
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
dandigangi 4y ago
Um... someone is going to use this for sending their suicide notes.
- capableweb 4y ago
  Probably. Just like email or any other communication medium. I don't think that should stop people from coming up with new ways of doing communication.
- Proven 4y ago
  [dead]
- loa_in_ 4y ago
  And that's an issue because? I mean it might be a human issue but it's not a technology issue.
- rathish_g 4y ago
  Gmail "Schedule Send" feature is good enough this use case :)
mariorojas 4y ago
interesting SaaS. now, you have any plan in case you go out of business?
- asciii 4y ago
  You'd think so with a name like "we expire"
westoque 4y ago
random but this is probably a good use of blockchain tech. a smart contract that stores the notes and unlocks using a key that is given to a loved one. perfect for use case for a lasting note. only time this goes down is if the entire network goes down.
- ciccionamente 4y ago
  Yep, agree!
moinism 4y ago
Sorry for the shameless plug but I also have a similar service: https://backupdiary.com https://backupdiary.com It works as a "dead man's switch". As long as you sign in at least once a month your note will be stay private. Otherwise, your designated recipients will get it in the email.
- ciccionamente 4y ago
  Nice one!
- durkes 4y ago
  It seems risky to be storing sensitive information including passwords. How are you protecting this data?
  - moinism 4y ago
    It does sound risky. But I wanted it to be secure enough so I could (and I am) store my own sensitive info too. All the information your write in your note is encrypted using 256-bit AES key. Encryption keys and the data itself are stored in different services. So even if the database is leaked/hacked, the information will not be public.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
0xbadc0de5 4y ago
"Please delete my browser history" That is all.
unstatusthequo 4y ago
Blockchain based solution. Helps with the survivability of the provider issue with these. https://sarcophagus.io/ https://sarcophagus.io/

73 points by ciccionamente 4y ago

KomoD 4y ago

* or if you are seriously injured.

ciccionamente 4y ago
Yep, that's true! Unfortunately HN title would have been too long with that.

emrecoban 4y ago

Nice idea!

ciccionamente 4y ago
Thx.

telesilla 4y ago

Hm please don't trust a service such as this over a decent legal firm, you can find always a reliable solicitor / legal support in your neighborhood.

ValentineC 4y ago
One problem with "reliable solicitors" is that it's entirely possible for their firm to go out of business too, with few, if any, repercussions for the proprietors. I'd prefer to trust something like a self-hosted Vaultwarden instance [1] with emergency access [2]. Maybe with redundancy even. [1] https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden [2] https://bitwarden.com/help/emergency-access/ https://bitwarden.com/help/emergency-access/
- dvngnt_ 4y ago
  true but I trust a well reviewed estate lawyer over any SaaS product
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 4y ago
  I think that is a solved problem. The legal profession is so old, and they are part of a system, that I would bet that most reliable solicitors have a continuity plan for their clients’ wills and other long terms legal paperwork.
- easytiger 4y ago
  Solicitors in a civilised country are highly regulated and if they were to cease trading the local regulator will appoint a firm to handle their clients needs
- BorisMelnik 4y ago
  biggest risk with a technology based solution for this is the person stops paying their hosting bill. I'd like to see this app open source the billing, so in case the person who runs the site disappears, the community can continue playing
  - ciccionamente 4y ago
    We are working with our hosting provider in order to inform the users in case the bad happens on our side and in order to provide 1 more year where the website and the emergency notes can still be accessible (but no emergency notes can be generated).
h9h9h9 4y ago
Hm no thanks. I trust these guys far more than I do "my neighborhood solicitor/legal support" and I don't even know who runs the site.

null4bl3 4y ago

[flagged]

roundandround 4y ago
I don't see what advantage this has over snailmail to themselves? I think the most likely nefarious thing is the question of intentionally blocking aliveness checks. If the Satoshi heir waited for his keys from this what element would he spend a few million interfering with to get his inheritance early?
loa_in_ 4y ago
That's a human issue not a technology issue. There's nothing technology can and should be programmed to even try to deal with, unless probing user's brain for intent is on the table...

davidcollantes 4y ago

I have used https://www.deadmantracker.com https://www.deadmantracker.com since creation. This one seems to be similar but, perhaps, less intrusive—I have to check-in on DMT each week. Neat. The important part is permanence, if the service is to be trusted, and to be useful.

ciccionamente 4y ago
Thank you. Dead Man Tracker is a nice tool, however it completely relies on constant email notifications in order to understand if something bad happened (a more complex system to maintain). Also all the personal data is stored in a database that could be breached.
davchana 4y ago
Long time ago, about 10 years ago, I thought of similar contraption with already google-verse system. Basically you upload a encrypted file (text or pdf) to google drive with public share link, and add an event to your Google calendar with a 3 month advance notice (& 2 months, 1 months, all by email), one time recurring only. As soon as you get notification email (XYZ is happening in 90 days, you go to Google Calendar & change event month to next 3rd month. But then they released Google Inactivity Manager.

c_ris 4y ago

Interesting idea. If, for some reason, your site goes down, will a note still be readable?

ciccionamente 4y ago
The emergency note can be readable only via WeExpire, and that's for security reasons - you always need to be notified that someone is trying to access your emergency note. As any other platform WeExpire could temporarily go down, but it will be always back online before than the minimum inactivity time you can set up in your emergency note (1 day).
- frollo 4y ago
  Yeah, but platforms fail, go out of business and can have issues. If you use this service (or any other of the ones mentioned in the other comments) you'll need to periodically check that they are ok (and that all your details are up to date).

kobalsky 4y ago

Interesting stuff if you find this thing useful: Google's Inactive Account Manager: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546?hl=en https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546?hl=en Shamir's Secret Sharing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamir%27s_secret_sharing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamir%27s_secret_sharing

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

dandigangi 4y ago

Um... someone is going to use this for sending their suicide notes.

capableweb 4y ago
Probably. Just like email or any other communication medium. I don't think that should stop people from coming up with new ways of doing communication.
Proven 4y ago
[dead]
loa_in_ 4y ago
And that's an issue because? I mean it might be a human issue but it's not a technology issue.
rathish_g 4y ago
Gmail "Schedule Send" feature is good enough this use case :)

mariorojas 4y ago

interesting SaaS. now, you have any plan in case you go out of business?

asciii 4y ago
You'd think so with a name like "we expire"

westoque 4y ago

random but this is probably a good use of blockchain tech. a smart contract that stores the notes and unlocks using a key that is given to a loved one. perfect for use case for a lasting note. only time this goes down is if the entire network goes down.

ciccionamente 4y ago
Yep, agree!

moinism 4y ago

Sorry for the shameless plug but I also have a similar service: https://backupdiary.com https://backupdiary.com It works as a "dead man's switch". As long as you sign in at least once a month your note will be stay private. Otherwise, your designated recipients will get it in the email.

ciccionamente 4y ago
Nice one!
durkes 4y ago
It seems risky to be storing sensitive information including passwords. How are you protecting this data?
- moinism 4y ago
  It does sound risky. But I wanted it to be secure enough so I could (and I am) store my own sensitive info too. All the information your write in your note is encrypted using 256-bit AES key. Encryption keys and the data itself are stored in different services. So even if the database is leaked/hacked, the information will not be public.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

0xbadc0de5 4y ago

"Please delete my browser history" That is all.

unstatusthequo 4y ago

Blockchain based solution. Helps with the survivability of the provider issue with these. https://sarcophagus.io/ https://sarcophagus.io/