Dead Man's Switch for Email — Safe, Simple Auto-Delivery
Messages that send themselves if you stop checking in, with a real person in the loop so they never send by accident.
What is a dead man's switch?
A dead man's switch is a mechanism that acts when a person stops doing something. The name comes from the lever on a train that halts the engine if the driver lets go, and it now describes any system that triggers on absence rather than on a command. A dead man's switch for email works the same way: if you stop checking in, the messages you stored are delivered.
Our Auto-Delivery feature is a dead man's switch: you confirm you are OK at an interval you choose, and if those confirmations stop, the messages you wrote are released to the people you named.
How does our dead man's switch work?
Four things happen between setting it up and anything being sent.
You choose the interval
Anywhere from 7 to 90 days. A weekly check-in suits someone in risky work; ninety days suits someone who just wants a long-term safety net. You can change it whenever you like.
We remind you, more than once
Reminders go out by email 7 days, 3 days and 1 day before your deadline, plus an SMS on the final day if you have verified a phone number. You can add a second email address as a backup in case a filter swallows the first.
Checking in takes one tap
Every reminder contains a check-in link. One tap resets the clock for the full interval — no logging in, no forms, nothing to remember.
A person confirms before anything sends
If you have asked for trusted-contact confirmation, the deadline passing does not send anything at all. Your messages are held and your trusted contact is asked to release them or decline, while reminders keep arriving for you.
What makes this safer than a classic dead man's switch?
The well-documented problem with dead man's switches is false triggers. Someone goes on a long hike, has a spell in hospital, or simply loses a phone, and a machine decides they have died.
The trusted contact option is the fix. Turn it on and a missed check-in never sends anything by itself. Instead, someone you named is asked to release your messages or decline. If they know you are just off-grid, they decline and everything is held. If nobody responds at all, nothing is sent. The default outcome is silence, not delivery.
You can also leave it off, in which case a lapsed check-in does deliver your messages automatically. Some people want exactly that. You confirm which behaviour you want when you set it up, so it is never a surprise.
Who uses a dead man's switch for email?
Estate and digital legacy
Where the important documents are, which accounts exist, and the letters you would want your family to have — released without anyone having to guess.
Deployments and dangerous work
Service members, offshore crews and remote workers who want something written before they leave, held quietly until it is needed.
Long trips and expeditions
A longer interval and a trusted contact mean a solo trip does not have to begin with a difficult conversation about what happens if you do not come back.
Journalists and researchers
A record that reaches named colleagues if you go silent, without anyone else holding a copy of it in the meantime.
Frequently asked questions
What is a dead man's switch?
A dead man's switch is a mechanism that triggers when a person stops doing something, rather than when they do something. In software it usually means an action that fires if a regular check-in is missed. Everlasting Email's Auto-Delivery is a dead man's switch for email: miss your check-ins and the messages you stored are delivered to the people you named.
What stops it going off accidentally?
Layered reminders and a human being. You are reminded by email 7, 3 and 1 days before the deadline, plus an SMS on the final day if your phone is verified, and you can add a backup email address. With trusted-contact confirmation switched on, a missed check-in alone never delivers anything — someone you chose has to release the messages first.
What if I am just in hospital or offline for a while?
That is exactly the case trusted-contact confirmation is designed for. Your contact is asked whether to release your messages, and if they know you are unwell or travelling they decline. Declining holds everything and prompts you to check in again when you are able. You can also set a longer interval before a trip, or check in early.
Can someone else cancel or trigger it?
Your trusted contact can release or decline a delivery once your deadline has passed, but they cannot start the process early, read your messages, or see what they say. Only a lapsed check-in begins it, and nobody — including our staff — can trigger a delivery on demand.
What gets delivered when it fires?
Everything attached to that occasion: the message text, any recorded video, photos and file attachments, sent to the recipients you named for it. Messages set up under your other occasions are not affected, because each occasion has its own delivery method.
How often do I have to check in?
You choose, anywhere from 7 to 90 days, and you can change the interval at any time. Checking in is a single tap in the reminder email, so most people do it without breaking stride.
Set it up once, then get on with your life
Auto-Delivery is included on our Gold and Premium plans. Start free and add it when you are ready.