Help centre
39 guides, how tos and answers covering every part of My Signal Vault. Search, or browse by category below.
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Getting started
What a deadman switch is, and how to set your first one up properly.
What a deadman switch actually is Guide
A deadman switch sends something only if you stop confirming that you are fine. Here is what that means in practice, and what it is and is not good for.
Create your first vault, step by step How to
From an empty account to an armed vault in about five minutes, including the parts people usually skip and later regret.
What happens the moment a vault fires Guide
The exact sequence from a missed deadline to an email in someone else's inbox, including timing, attachments and what you are told afterwards.
How to choose a check in interval you will actually keep Guide
Why short timers fail, how to think about the trade off between speed and false alarms, and sensible defaults for common situations.
Install My Signal Vault on your phone How to
Add the site to your home screen on iOS or Android so checking in is one tap, and turn on push reminders.
Vaults and check ins
Timers, reminders, arming, pausing, and exactly what gets delivered.
Checking in: what it does and when to do it Guide
Checking in resets the countdown on one vault. Here is exactly what it changes, what it does not, and how to build a habit around it.
Arming, pausing and deleting a vault How to
How to start a countdown, stop one safely before a holiday, and remove a vault you no longer want.
Editing a vault that is already armed How to
You can change the message, recipient, attachments and timer of a live vault. What each change does to the countdown.
The reminders you get before a vault fires Guide
Two warnings go out on every armed vault, at 75 and 90 percent of the interval. What they look like and how to make sure you see them.
Send yourself a test delivery Guide
Rehearse the whole delivery before you have to rely on it. The exact email your recipients would get, sent to you, with nothing else touched.
What your recipient actually receives Guide
What the delivery email looks like from the other side, what the recipient has to do, and why they should never be surprised by it.
Vault statuses: armed, paused and delivered FAQ
What each status means, what can be done in each one, and which ones count against your plan limit.
Files and storage
Uploading, encryption, attachments, self destruct and size limits.
Upload a file How to
How uploading works, why large files are sent in pieces, and what to do when an upload stops part way.
How your files are encrypted Guide
A plain description of the encryption used here, what it protects you against, and honestly what it does not.
Attach files to a vault How to
How to attach stored files to a vault, what happens to them on delivery, and the size limit that catches people out.
Set a file to self destruct How to
Give a stored file an expiry date after which it is permanently erased. Available on Pro and Lifetime.
File types, sizes and storage limits FAQ
What you can upload, what is refused and why, how much space each plan gives you, and how to get round the executable block.
Can anyone at My Signal Vault read my files? FAQ
A straight answer about what server side decryption means for your privacy, and what to do if you need a stronger guarantee.
Security and access
Two factor authentication, passwords, lockouts and your audit log.
Turn on two factor authentication How to
Add a six digit code to your sign in, in about two minutes, using any authenticator app. The single most useful thing you can do for this account.
Backup codes, and where to keep them Guide
What backup codes are for, how many you get, how to use one, and how to store them so that they are there when you need them.
Failed sign ins, lockouts and how long they last Guide
Three wrong passwords locks the address out for 20 minutes. Three more after that locks it for 24 hours. Why it works that way and what to do if it happens to you.
Read and filter your audit log How to
Every action on your account is recorded. How to filter by category, search, narrow by date, export to CSV, and what to look for.
Choosing a password for an account like this one Guide
What actually makes a password hard to guess, why reuse is the real danger, and how passwords are stored here.
Sign out of every device How to
How to end every session at once when a device is lost or you think someone else has been in your account.
Your account
Email address, timezone, notifications, sessions and deletion.
Change the email address on your account How to
How the two step email change works, why your old address keeps working until you confirm, and what it affects.
Set your timezone How to
Your timezone controls every date and time shown to you, including vault deadlines and your audit log. Set it once and it follows you between devices.
Choose what you are told about How to
Turn individual emails and push notifications on or off, and understand which ones you should never turn off.
Permanently delete your account How to
Exactly what deletion removes, what one anonymous record stays behind, and how to do it. This cannot be undone.
What a suspended account means FAQ
Why an account might be suspended, what still happens while it is, and how to get it lifted.
Plans and billing
What each plan includes, how to change it, and how refunds work.
The four plans, compared Guide
What Free, Basic, Pro and Lifetime each include, what the differences actually mean in use, and which one most people need.
Upgrade, downgrade or switch billing period How to
How to change plan, when the change takes effect, how proration works, and how to apply a coupon.
What happens when your plan drops FAQ
Nothing is deleted when you move to a smaller plan, but armed vaults over the new limit are affected. Read this before letting a card expire.
Cancel your subscription, or ask for a refund How to
How to cancel, what you keep afterwards, and the 30 day refund that applies to monthly, annual and Lifetime alike.
Troubleshooting
When something has not worked, start here.
I cannot sign in Guide
Work through the causes in order, from the dull and common to the rare, and find which one applies to you.
I am locked out after failed sign ins Guide
What the 20 minute and 24 hour lockouts mean, what does not get round them, and what to do while you wait.
I have lost my two factor device Guide
What to do with a backup code, what to do without one, and why recovery is deliberately slow.
A vault delivered but nothing arrived Guide
What to check when the log says delivered and the recipient says nothing came, in the order most likely to find the cause.
An upload failed or stopped part way Guide
Why uploads stall, what each error means, and how to get a large file up on an unreliable connection.
My vault delivered and I did not want it to FAQ
What can and cannot be done after an accidental delivery, and how to make sure it does not happen twice.
Not finding it?
Describe the problem in your own words and the assistant will point you at the right page, or answer directly. It is available on every page of the site.