Back-up solutions

Inheritor is designed to outlast anything, even ourselves.

Inheritor is designed with robust backup solutions to ensure your digital assets remain accessible to your beneficiaries, no matter what happens. Whether you lose your phone, forget to check-in, or if Inheritor itself were to cease operating, the system provides multiple safeguards to protect your digital legacy.

How can I backup my data?

Inheritor automatically updates your data on your phone. However, that is not helpful if you lose or break your phone. Follow our 'practical consideration' guidelines to make sure you always can always access a backup.

I lost/broke my iPhone. What do I do?

If you have lost or permanently damaged your phone, then in most cases you would buy a new iPhone. iOS will be able to restore your new iPhone, and you can then continue to use Inheritor without issue.

I purchased a new phone, what should I do?

When you restore your new phone, all data, including private keys (stored in Keychain), will be restored. After the restore process is complete, you can continue using Inheritor where you left off.

I don't use iCloud backup and purchased a new phone, what should I do?

Reinstall Inheritor on your new phone. Restore the private keys using the recovery phrase, then restore the backup. After restarting Inheritor, you can proceed where you left off.

I am (or will be) in a remote area where I cannot access the Internet (or my iPhone). What do I do?

Make sure you set the Check-in frequency to a long period (like 1, 2, or 3 months) before you leave. That ensures your Digital Will will not be executed during that period.

What If I Forget to Check-In?

The check-in system is designed to confirm that you are still present and active, preventing premature activation of your digital will. But what happens if you forget to check-in? Don’t worry—Inheritor is built to account for real-life scenarios.

• Grace Period: If you miss a scheduled check-in, the system won’t immediately trigger your digital will. Instead, a grace period is activated. This allows you several weeks to respond before any further action is taken.

• Multiple Notifications: During the grace period, Inheritor will send you reminders through various channels, such as app notifications, emails, or SMS (based on your preferences). These reminders make it highly unlikely that you’ll miss the check-in altogether.

• Practical Reality: Let’s face it—the chances of missing all notifications for an entire month are extremely low. However, in the rare event that you do, your digital will is accessed only if your beneficiaries actually look for it.

When I view an Inheritance the app shows 'Digital Asset preview disabled for security reasons. You might have restored a backup.' What does this mean?

For security reasons, Inheritor does not back up your Digital Assets as they might contain sensitive data. When this message appears, you have most likely restored a backup which makes a preview of the asset unavailable. If you want to be able to view the asset again in the app, you'll need to revoke the Inheritance and create a new one selecting the same (or similar) asset. Note that the Inheritor app requires FaceID authentication to show Digital Assets as an additional security measure.

My spouse is using Inheritor and became incapacitated. They will be in a hospital probably for a long time (coma). However, doctors say they are not irrevocably incapacitated. What do I do?

To avoid problems with your Digital Will executing prematurely in these types of situations, we have created the concept of a 'Verifier' available in the Premium subscription. Assigning a Verifier will always require a human confirmation of the state of the Testator before the Digital Will is executed.

What should I do when something happens with the developers of Inheritor, or even Apple?

The correct execution of your Digital Will is not dependent on us or any of our systems. As long as you have Inheritor installed on your iPhone, you can use it to update your Digital Will and to check-in. However, as Inheritor relies on subscriptions and in-app purchases (via Apple), Apple might stop serving these at some point. For this (remote) case, we provide a mitigation process that ensures you can Check-In or revoke Inheritances without using our app, but via the use of public domain/free software tools. This ensures that Digital Assets are not transferred prematurely.

Read our Mitigation - How Inheritor protects your digital will guide for more details

What should I do when something happens with Ethereum, Arbitrum, or Arweave?

Like the Internet, these blockchain networks are distributed and mainly 'unstoppable'. Their disappearance could only be the result of a major global disruption. However, if the unthinkable happens, it is best to revoke all your Inheritances either using our app or via our mitigation process.

How Can Beneficiaries Claim Assets if Inheritor No Longer Exists?

Even in the unlikely event that Inheritor ceases to exist, your beneficiaries will still be able to claim the assets stored in your digital will. This is possible because Inheritor leverages blockchain technology, which operates independently of the platform itself.

• Blockchain Transparency: The blockchain ledger records all the necessary information about your digital will, such as the contract address and the conditions for asset release. This information is accessible through the Inheritor app and can also be verified using publicly available tools like blockchain scanners.

• Using a Chain Scanner: Beneficiaries can use Ethereum chain scanners (e.g., Etherscan) to locate and verify the state of the smart contract governing your digital will. Open-source scripts and documentation provided by Inheritor allow beneficiaries to interact directly with the blockchain to claim their inheritance without relying on the app.

• Arweave Storage: Large files and digital assets are stored permanently on the decentralized Arweave blockchain. Access to these files is governed by encrypted keys, ensuring that even without the app, beneficiaries can retrieve them securely.

This decentralized design ensures your digital assets remain secure, tamper-proof, and accessible indefinitely.