Terms of Service
- This is a free, volunteer-style safety tool. It is not an emergency service, not a security or monitoring company, and not law enforcement. In an emergency, call 911.
- It can fail, be late, or fire when you didn't want it to. You use it entirely at your own risk.
- We never contact police for you. If your switch fires, it alerts the people you chose, and they decide what to do.
- You may only use it for yourself and must have permission to list the people you add. Fake reports and using it against anyone are forbidden.
- Disputes go to individual arbitration under Florida law, not class actions.
1. Who we are and agreement
The Dead Man's Switch service (the "Service") is provided free of charge by Howell Services LLC, Jacksonville, Florida ("we", "us"). By creating an account or using the Service you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. You must be at least 18 years old.
2. What the Service does
You create an account, save an encrypted "alert packet" (for example your name, description, photo links, emergency contacts, law-enforcement contacts you choose, and links to files you keep in your own cloud storage), and set a check-in code. While your switch is armed, you must check in at least once every 90 days. Before your deadline we try to send reminder emails to your account email. If you miss the deadline, a 72-hour grace period begins, during which we try to send further warnings. If you still have not checked in when the grace period ends, the Service is designed to (a) email your chosen emergency contacts a message and your alert details for them to act on, and (b) publish a public missing-person / welfare-check post using automated posting tools on social media platforms. Evidence links you provide are sent only to your emergency contacts, not posted publicly.
Timings, features, platforms and wording may change at any time without notice.
3. Not an emergency service; no reliance
The Service is not an emergency, 911, medical, security, monitoring, personal-protection, investigative or law-enforcement service and must not be relied on to protect anyone's life, health, safety or property. We do not monitor accounts, we do not verify that anyone is actually missing or in danger, and we do not contact police, emergency services or any authority on your behalf. If you or someone else is in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number.
4. No guarantee it works
The Service depends on software, servers, email delivery, third-party AI and automation tools, social media platforms and cloud storage providers that we do not control. Reminders, warnings, alerts and posts may be delayed, blocked, filtered as spam, removed by a platform, delivered to the wrong place, sent more than once, or not sent at all. The switch may fire when you did not intend it to (for example if you forget to check in, lose access to your email, or a system error occurs), and it may fail to fire when you intended it to. You accept all of these risks. You are responsible for keeping your account email working, checking in on time, and keeping your information accurate.
5. Your responsibilities and promises
- You will only create a switch about yourself (or a minor or dependent for whom you are the legal guardian).
- You have the permission of every person whose name, contact details or image you add, including emergency contacts, and you are solely responsible for telling them they may receive an alert.
- Everything you provide is truthful, and you have the legal right to share it and to have it posted publicly if your switch fires.
- You will not use the Service to make a false report; to harass, stalk, threaten, defame or impersonate anyone; to direct police or others to a person or address as a prank or attack ("swatting"); to disclose anyone else's private or confidential information; to share illegal content; or to violate any law, court order or platform rule.
- You will not try to break, overload, scrape, reverse-engineer or gain unauthorized access to the Service.
- Your password cannot be recovered by us. You are responsible for everything done through your account.
We may suspend, disarm or delete any account, refuse or remove any content, or stop any alert, at any time and for any reason, including suspected misuse, without notice or liability.
6. Third-party services
Your files stay in cloud storage you control (such as Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud or Proton Drive); you are responsible for its sharing settings. Alerts and posts rely on third-party email, AI-automation and social media services. We are not responsible for any third party, its availability, its rules, or what it does with information.
7. Disclaimer of warranties
To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available", with all faults and without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, accuracy, reliability, availability, timeliness, security or that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free or will detect, prevent or respond to any emergency. No advice or information from us creates any warranty.
8. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Howell Services LLC and its owners, members, employees, contractors, agents and volunteers will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for any death, personal injury, emotional distress, loss of life or safety, property damage, loss of data, reputational harm, false or missed alerts, police or third-party actions, or any other loss arising out of or related to the Service or these Terms, under any theory of liability, even if advised of the possibility. Because the Service is free, our total liability for all claims of any kind is limited to zero dollars (US $0), or, where a zero limit is not permitted, one hundred US dollars ($100). These limits apply to the maximum extent allowed by law and do not limit liability that cannot legally be limited, such as liability for our own gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
9. Release and assumption of risk
You knowingly assume all risks of using the Service, including the risk of false alerts, missed alerts, public posts about you, and actions taken by your contacts, the public, platforms or authorities in response. To the fullest extent permitted by law, you release Howell Services LLC and its owners, members, employees, contractors, agents and volunteers from all claims arising from those risks.
10. Indemnification
You will defend, indemnify and hold harmless Howell Services LLC and its owners, members, employees, contractors, agents and volunteers from any claim, demand, loss, liability, damage, fine, cost or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use or misuse of the Service, the information you provide, any alert or post triggered by your account, your breach of these Terms, or your violation of any law or anyone's rights.
11. Disputes: arbitration and class-action waiver
Please read carefully; this affects your rights. Except for claims that qualify for small-claims court, any dispute arising out of or relating to the Service or these Terms will be resolved by final, binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, seated in Duval County, Florida. You and we waive any right to a jury trial and to participate in a class, collective or representative action. You may opt out of this Section within 30 days of creating your account by emailing deadman@driftpoint.us with the subject "Arbitration opt-out" and your account email. If this Section is found unenforceable for a claim, that claim will be brought only in the state or federal courts located in Duval County, Florida, and you consent to their jurisdiction.
Any claim must be brought within one (1) year after it arises, or it is permanently barred, to the extent permitted by law.
12. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida and applicable U.S. federal law (including the Federal Arbitration Act), without regard to conflict-of-law rules.
13. Ending your use
You may disarm your switch at any time and may ask us to delete your account by emailing deadman@driftpoint.us from your account email. We may change, suspend or discontinue the Service, in whole or in part, at any time without notice or liability. Sections 3, 4 and 7 through 14 survive any termination.
14. General
We may update these Terms by posting a new version on this page; continuing to use the Service after an update means you accept it. If any part of these Terms is unenforceable, it will be limited to the minimum extent necessary and the rest stays in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms; we may. These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and us about the Service.
Contact
Howell Services LLC · Jacksonville, Florida · deadman@driftpoint.us