Dead mans switch / legacy settings / post mortem / data inheritance
set something up where if your account goes inactive (no log in etc) for a settable period of time a preset email will be sent to a preset address.
example i set up something so if i dont log in in 3 or 14 or 30 or 90 days etc (let us choose how long) a message i have already set up for this will be sent..
this would have a few uses and is also a pretty decent fallback to losing your account info if you dont set a 2nd account.. you could even send yourself your own forgotten account info in a fairly secure way... also useful for whistle blowers.. remidners etc.. idk i'd use it allot..
havent been able to find this anywhere

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Chris (Griffen8280) commented
In the event of a unexpected death or disabling circumstance, it would be nice to have an email sent by the pass system to a person that is designated by the account holder as a backup. The email would include the details of how to access pass and use it as the keys to gain access to the websites/logins stored within. This email can be keyed to a dead-man type switch that basically just detects usage of the pass system. If there is no usage for a designated amount of time like 1-2 months then the email is triggered to the person designated by the account holder.
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Steven commented
Access for others if owner is incapacitated/deceased would be a great feature, but it really needs to be super-safe to avoid creating an abusable back door. I like the idea of shared keys between trusted parties as an option, such as, 3 people out of possible 5 need to join their key segments, after a period of time. Best to have this per vault.
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Stephan commented
Proton's stack offers so many nice things, but this feature being lacking is kind of keeping me from switching from my current password manager.
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John commented
This is what I have in mind:
I have a designated executor in my Will. I want to be able to share a password-protected vault with all the important financial info in it with said executor. The password being in the Will, the executor only gets access to the vault when I die.So I want the ability to do 2 things:
* Create a vault that contains specific passwords sourced from other vaults, and thus kept in sync (aka if I change info for file 1 in Vault 1, then file 1 in Vault Will gets updated too)
* Create a password when sharing the vault with someone. The vault can only be decrypted if that someone has the password. -
Abdul Rauf commented
if a Proton Drive user passes away, no one can access their encrypted files unless they already have the credentials, even with legal documents. While this is great for privacy, it means all content is lost after death. Please consider adding an optional “dead man’s switch” feature: if the account is inactive for a set period, a pre-set message or access link could be sent to a designated email, allowing users to delegate access if something happens to them. This would help with digital inheritance and give peace of mind without compromising Proton’s security model.
This is requested for all Proton products, not just for drive.
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C commented
For me a Deadman's Switch is critical and if I could use it with Proton and my drive, that would be freaking awesome! I handle oligarch, dictatorship or war crime evidence and mateietails as a freelance cyber journalist in war zones. Many people and journalists who use proton for highly sensitive data that can lead to an untimely demise. Lastly, I would ask for consideration on how proton could use this feature domestic violence victims or those at risk of honor killings. use Proton an emails. I've personally encouraged several domestic violence, human trafficking and honor killing protection NGOs to switch to Proton mail and drive But what happens to all the evidence if the person is dead?
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Chris commented
This is the biggest reason I have not been able to cancel LastPass in favor of Proton Pass. I have emergency access setup for my parents, so that if they or I need access to each others' vaults, we can do this within a few days time.
My less technical family members are not fans of having to use two password managers, so today we use LastPass family for theirs, while I use Proton Pass either redundantly or with less critical credentials.
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Eric Summers commented
Basically, the proton suite is monitoring for user activity. If a given period (3 months for example) transpires with zero activity detected, a deadman switch is activated. Starting with numerous attempts to contact the presumed deceased through all available avenues (alternate email, text messages, etc). Then a final email announcing the initiation of deadman protocol. These preferences would be defined by each user but something along the lines of
1. Who do you want to receive this email
2. Dictate the email (may contain seed phrase or other crypto retrieval instructions)
3. Permanently Delete or Share other Proton Suite data with specified contactsThere needs to be a system in place to handle death. Allow users to specify what happens to their data after they pass away.
Paired with my Legacy Encryption Protocol, this Deadman switch feature can help facilitate Bitcoin inheritance.
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Victor Richardson commented
I would like this feature to be implemented with an option for third-party verification when granting access to a trusted contract.
For example, if a trusted contract attempts to gain access, an email (or another form of notification) is sent to a second trusted party. This party must approve the request before access is granted.
This mechanism allows for quicker access while ensuring that access is only granted in emergencies or when explicitly authorised by a second party.
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Dave commented
I look forward to see this option as indicated on your roadmap: https://proton.me/blog/proton-pass-roadmap-winter-spring
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T commented
I can't wait until this is implemented so I can involve my family in my operational security, as well as to get them to take their own more seriously.
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Eric Summers commented
I'd like a feature where if my account is inactive for a given period of time, and email is sent to my beneficiaries
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François commented
What about doing a Shamir Secret Sharing keys set to do an emergency recovery (or a legacy access :/ ) ? I know Cozy Cloud has done such research on legacy protocols using Shamir Secret Sharing ...
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megaladon commented
This feature is very important. Bitwarden implements it but in not in a user friendly way. If you implement it please make it less clunky as it might be someone's 90 year old grandm setting it up with their grandson, for example.
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Buzzeger5 commented
There could be a "heartbeat" functionality for E.A.:
But I also have another complementing idea: Emergency Contact.Where the owner of the account/vault, has to keep responding heartbeat prompts, to keep Emergency Contact / Access from being activated with the pre-configured trusted person/account.
The system could monitor hearbeat prompt response times and construct a graph.
This would be the basis to calculate gradual delays in response times.
The user could define conditions how when and how certain actions such as Emergency Contact and Emergency Access happen.
One of the conditions/rules would cover at what threshold or gradual fading of response times to heartbeat prompts moment E.C. is activated with the trusted person.
E.C. would let trusted person a headsup (email, notification, SMS, depending on config) to check up on the user, "are you okay?".
The user could then define conditions (within reason) how E.A. is activated, for example after how many missed heartbeat prompts, and/or the time after a missed heartbeat, and other sensible and practical, but with some hard limits to this configuration, eventually E.A. would be activated.However, I think this would just start the E.A. process, not yet activate it for the trusted person. I think for security/fraud/spam prevention, it may (though privacy?) perhaps first be alerted to Proton Staff or Systems, which would then continue to do various checks (for suspicious activity, security measures), perhaps send a final super-heartbeat prompt to the user (hardcoded, can't be disabled), email, sms, notifications, wait for a final ... hour, minutes? If no response then the trusted person would be attempted to establish contact, under which the trusted person would still need to go through yet more verification, 2FA, perhaps even phone call, and once the trusted user completes all of the (probably, or semi) automated procedures, Proton Staff would then perhaps manually verify all-checks-clear and trigger master confirmation to activate E.A. for the trusted person.
Question is whether Proton has staff on hand on sundays for this if some manual process is preferred, perhaps this would be only top tier function.
There could concieveably be many different such methods of how E.A. is activated if Proton wishes to implement.
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Julian commented
Seems to be in the roadmap for Winter/Spring now!
https://proton.me/blog/proton-pass-roadmap-winter-spring
> Give family or friends emergency access to your vaults
> In the event that you’re not able to access Proton Pass or someone else needs to access your account, you’ll be able to grant emergency access to a specific, designated user. This can be helpful in an emergency situation where a loved one or friend needs access to the information you’ve stored in your Proton Pass account.
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Andrew Young commented
Essential feature before I'd consider moving away from Bitwarden.
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Jean-Marc Le Roux commented
Dead man switch: allow a list of emails to access my vault(s) if I do not cancel their request in the next XX hours/days
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Brendan Andrews commented
This is necessary for inheritance reasons in areas outside of Proton. It should ideally become a feature of Proton.
A dead man's switch in proton allows access to assets or documents which are secure until someone dies.
Consider having a two part key. Half is given to a beneficiary. The other half is set to be sent to them via a dead man's switch.
With a dead man's switch there is no risk of premature access by beneficiaries directly, nor through either their careless security or trusted intermediaries (like lawyers). And with the two parts being completely distinct, there no risk of combining them until the switch is triggered.
Proton's security makes this the perfect platform for this type of dead man's switch.
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proton_evol commented
It is impossible for me to upgrade to Proton Pass without this feature. For now I will continue to use Bitwarden to secure access to my passwords.