The vault is not opaque. A small amount of structure has to stay readable for the thing to be usable at all, and it is worth knowing exactly which parts.
Stored unencrypted
These are not protected by the vault's encryption. Today the app gives your heir no way to browse them before a claim finalizes — but they are readable by anything holding the stored data, and by your heir the moment release happens. Treat them as public.
- Item titles
Stored in the clear. The editor warns you of this as you type one.
- Categories
Also in the clear, for grouping.
- Item type
That something is a login, a file, a final message.
- How many items exist
A count, and roughly when things were added or changed.
- Everything on-chain
Your heir's address, your timer, your heartbeat, the claim status, the deposited balance. Public to anyone, not just them.
Not visible until a claim finalizes
- Contents of any item
Passwords, notes, instructions, phrases, contact details.
- File bytes and original filenames
Both are inside the encrypted payload.
- Owner-only items
- Never released at all.
- Your recovery phrase
- Not in the vault to begin with.
Naming things properly
The rule is simple: a title should let you find it, not let someone use it.
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
Gmail — dave@… / Tr0ub4dor3 | Primary email |
Barclays 20-45-11 88301422 | Main current account |
Ledger seed — in the safe, code 4417 | Hardware wallet |
Affair — do not tell Sam | Nothing. Reconsider entirely. |
Test it against the wrong reader
Read your item list as though it were being read by someone who should not have it — a thief with your unlocked phone, or an heir years before you intended. If a title alone tells them something useful, rename it.
Why it is built this way
Titles have to be readable for the list to exist. An heir needs to know that something is there and roughly what it covers, to know that finalizing is worthwhile and that they have not missed anything.
Encrypting titles too would mean an heir sees an undifferentiated block of ciphertext until release — and it would move the problem rather than solve it, because the number and size of items would still leak shape.
The honest position is that the vault protects contents completely and metadata not at all, and the naming discipline above is what closes the gap.
Your heir also sees the chain
Everything the inheritance program stores is public: your address, their address, your last heartbeat, your timer, the claim status, the deposited balance. That is deliberate — it lets them verify their position without trusting anyone — but it means the value of the deposited estate is visible before they inherit it.
If that matters to you, deposit later rather than earlier.