Straight answers to hard questions.

How do you know someone has died?

A person on our team reviews every case; nothing is automatic. A case opens when check-ins go unanswered for a long time, or when someone who knows you tells us they are worried. Either way, we try to reach you first, by email, with a link that answers us. If you answer, or sign in, the case closes.

Only if we cannot reach you does a reviewer approve a release, and you get at least 72 hours’ notice before anything is sent. Any sign of life during that time cancels it.

We don’t ask your family for a death certificate, and we don’t use an outside death-check service. Silence, a missed check-in, a failed payment or a quiet phone or watch is never, on its own, treated as proof of anything. Our review is a careful operational judgment, not a legal determination of death.

What happens if Trust Relay shuts down?

We won’t disappear quietly. If the service ever winds down, every customer is notified directly by email before anything changes, and we refund the unused portion of your membership, prorated.

You don’t have to wait for that to keep a copy. At any time, Settings → Export & Backup gives you everything you have written here: a readable report you can print, and a file with your documents included.

Who can see what I write?

You can see and change all of it.

Our team cannot open your account numbers, the guidance you wrote for each person, your personal messages or your timed notes: they are encrypted in our database, and our review tools have no way to decrypt them. A reviewer sees how long you have been quiet and what we have tried. They also see your people’s names and contact details, and the general note you keep on an institution.

When a release is approved, what you wrote for a person is decrypted to be delivered to that person, and only theirs. The companies that run parts of the service for us are Supabase (database and sign-in), Vercel (the website), Google Workspace (email), Stripe and Apple (payments), Expo (iPhone notifications), Anthropic (only if you choose AI-assisted import), Oura (only if you connect a ring) and GitHub (encrypted backups it cannot read).

Can I download a backup?

Yes. Settings → Export & Backup makes a readable report you can print or save as a PDF, a data file, and a .zip that adds your uploaded documents and a list that checks every file. It is made in your browser, and nothing is emailed.

Account numbers are masked unless you choose to include them, and we ask you to confirm it is you first. Anyone who opens the files can read them, so keep them somewhere safe. A downloaded copy does not keep your check-ins or future delivery going.

Is two-step sign-in required?

Yes, on the website, and in the iPhone app from version 1.0.8. After your password, we email you a 6-digit code and ask for it before you are signed in. On the website, you can mark a browser you trust for 30 days so it doesn’t ask every time. Earlier versions of the iPhone app do not ask for the code.

Our staff accounts always require an authenticator app, and approving a release or issuing a refund needs a code entered minutes before. We will never ask you for a code by phone. If an email asks you to type a code into a page that isn’t trustrelayservices.com, don’t.

Is there something I can give my family?

Yes, if you would like. Settings → Your records lets you print a wallet card and a one-page guide. They tell your family you use Trust Relay and where to start: trustrelayservices.com/family.

You choose what goes on them, and a contact person prints only after you confirm they agreed. Nothing on that page is saved or sent. The QR code is the same on every card and carries nothing about you. The card gives no one access to your records and cannot start or speed up a release.

Something else? Write to support@trustrelayservices.com.