Before surgery or a diagnosis
You'll very likely be fine. Say it anyway.
Many people write a short note before an operation, or after a hard conversation with a doctor, and feel lighter for having done it. Sealkept holds those words safely, and only releases them with great care.
Before surgery
The small things that make the waiting easier.
Sort these a few days ahead, so the night before is quiet.
- Who drives you home, and who stays the first night
- A printed list of your medication and doses
- Someone who can update family, so you don't have to
- Pets, plants and post covered for a week or two
- Where your will is, and who can make decisions if you can't
- One person who knows how to get into your phone
The words
It doesn't need to be long.
Going in tomorrow. I'm fine, honestly. But in case I'm groggy for a while, I wanted to say thank you for the soup, the lifts, and putting up with me this month. Love you.
You can delete it afterwards, or keep it. Many people keep adding to it.
After a diagnosis
When there's more time, and more to say.
A serious diagnosis can bring a need to put things in order, at your own pace. There's no right order and no deadline. Some people start with practical notes; others start with one letter to one person.
Letters to the people you love
Write to each person separately. Short and true is better than long and perfect.
Practical instructions
Where documents are, which accounts exist, who to call first. Attach files to make it easier.
Your wishes
Care preferences, funeral wishes, what matters to you. Sealkept doesn't replace a will or advance directive, but it can tell people where yours are.
Messages for later
A voice note for a grandchild's birthday, a letter for an anniversary. Each can be held for a later date.
The trusted verifier
A person, not just a timer.
If you're unwell for a while, you might miss check-ins for reasons that have nothing to do with the worst case. That's why you can name one or two trusted verifiers. Before anything moves forward, they're asked to confirm what's happened.
- Choose a partner, adult child or close friend
- They're only contacted after your reminders go unanswered
- If they say you're fine, everything pauses
- Require one or two confirmations, as you prefer
The release, step by step
Nothing is sent on a single missed check-in.
Sealkept never sends on a single missed check-in. It reminds you several times, can ask a trusted verifier to confirm, sends recipients a soft alert, and waits a grace period you choose before anything is delivered.
- 01
Reminders
Miss a check-in and we remind you, several times, by email and in the app.
- 02
Trusted verifier
Optionally, one or two people you choose are asked to confirm before anything moves on.
- 03
Soft alert
Recipients get a gentle note that something may be wrong, with a way for you to say you're fine.
- 04
Grace period
We wait 48 hours, 7 days or 21 days, as you chose. One tap from you stops everything.
- 05
Delivery
Only then are your messages delivered, each by the rule you set for it.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Related reading
Related guides and tools
- JournalBefore surgery: a calm checklist for the night beforeBefore major surgery, sort out the practical things a few days ahead (lifts, medication list, someone to update family), note where your will is and who can make decisions for you, and pause any check-in service so nothing is sent while you recover.
- JournalWhat to do after a terminal diagnosis: what matters first, and what can waitAfter a terminal diagnosis, nothing has to be done today. In the first weeks, ask for palliative care support, choose who can speak for you (a power of attorney or healthcare proxy) and make or update a will. Then, at your own pace, organise accounts and documents and turn to the things only you can do: conversations, letters and recordings for the people you love.
- JournalDead man's switch false alarms: how they happen and how to prevent themA dead man's switch is safe when a missed check-in can't send anything on its own. False triggers usually come from lost email access, spam filters, hospital stays, travel or a changed phone; layered reminders, a trusted verifier, a soft alert, a grace period and pause mode stop them, and letters written to be okay if they arrived early add a final layer.
- JournalDead man's switch: what it is and how to set one up safelyA digital dead man's switch is a service that holds messages or documents and releases them to chosen people only if you stop responding to regular check-ins. A safe one uses layers, such as repeated reminders, a trusted verifier, a soft alert and a grace period, so that a missed check-in never sends anything by mistake.
- How it worksCheck-ins, reminders, trusted verifiers and a soft alert before anything is delivered.
- Digital legacy checklistTwenty things your family will need, grouped and saved as you go.
Say the important things. Then rest.
Start with one short note to one person. It takes ten minutes.
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