Privacy Policy
This policy explains how Howell Services LLC ("we", "us"), Jacksonville, Florida, handles information in the Dead Man's Switch service (the "Service"). It is part of our Terms of Service.
1. What we collect
| Information | How it's stored |
|---|---|
| Your account email | Stored so you can sign in and so we can send reminders and warnings. |
| Your password and check-in code | Stored only as salted one-way hashes. We cannot see or recover them. |
| Your alert packet (names, description, photo links, emergency contacts, law-enforcement contacts you choose, the post text, and links to your cloud files) | Encrypted at rest (AES-256-GCM). |
| Switch status (armed or not, last check-in time, which warnings were sent, whether it fired) | Stored so the switch can work. |
| Sign-in session | A random token kept in your browser for up to 30 days; we store only a hash of it. |
| Security and activity records | Account actions (for example "signed up", "checked links", "warning sent") with your account ID and time, but not the contents of your packet. Our web servers also record IP addresses and request details; those logs roll over automatically, typically within days to a few weeks. |
Your files: we never host, copy or open the files in your cloud storage. If you use "Check my links", our server briefly requests each link you saved from the storage provider (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, Proton Drive, MEGA or Box only) to tell you whether it works and whether it's public or private. We don't keep anything it returns.
2. Who can see your alert packet
Your packet is designed so that our staff do not read it, and it is never shown in our admin tools. It is decrypted automatically by the system only (a) to show it to you when you are signed in, and (b) to send your alerts if your switch fires. Because the system has to be able to send alerts when you can't, it holds the encryption key, so this is not "zero-knowledge" encryption. We may access or disclose information if required by law, court order or valid legal process, or to investigate misuse of the Service.
3. How we use it
- To run the Service: sign-in, check-ins, reminders and warnings, and alerts if your switch fires.
- To keep the Service secure and prevent misuse.
- We do not sell or rent your information, use it for advertising, or use it to train AI models.
4. What happens if your switch fires
- Your emergency contacts receive an email with your alert details, your chosen law-enforcement contacts, and your evidence links.
- A public missing-person / welfare-check post containing your name, description and post text is prepared and published on social media through an automated AI posting agent. Once posted, that content is public and controlled by the platforms and the public. We cannot guarantee its removal.
- Your evidence links are not included in public posts; they go only to your emergency contacts.
5. Service providers we use
- Server hosting: DigitalOcean (United States).
- Database: Neon (cloud PostgreSQL).
- Email sending: Resend. Incoming email to deadman@driftpoint.us: Cloudflare Email Routing.
- Automated posting if a switch fires: an AI agent running on Meta's AI services, which receives the public post text, and the social media platforms it posts to.
These providers process information on our behalf or, for public posts, as independent platforms under their own policies.
6. How long we keep it
We keep your account and packet until you ask us to delete them. After deletion, copies may remain in backups for a limited time and in security records (which do not contain your packet). Content already posted publicly or emailed to your contacts can't be recalled.
7. Your choices
- You can view, change, or clear your packet and disarm your switch at any time while signed in.
- To delete your account, email deadman@driftpoint.us from your account email.
- Browser storage: the Service uses your browser's local storage only to keep you signed in. No advertising or tracking cookies.
8. Security
We use encryption, hashing, access controls and logging, but no system is perfectly secure, and we can't guarantee that information will never be accessed, disclosed, altered or lost. Keep your password and check-in code private.
9. Children
The Service is only for people 18 and older. Don't create an account for anyone else except a minor or dependent you are the legal guardian of.
10. Changes
We may update this policy by posting a new version here. Continuing to use the Service after an update means you accept it.
Contact
Howell Services LLC · Jacksonville, Florida · deadman@driftpoint.us