Terms of Service

I. The Vault Service

Time Machine Vault (TMV) provides a secure, encrypted storage and delivery platform for legacy messages ("Capsules"). By creating a vault, you entrust TMV with the preservation and eventual delivery of your words according to the protocols set forth in these terms.

Sealing and deletion.A Capsule may be edited freely while it is a draft. Once you seal it, its words are fixed and cannot be changed — that is what sealing means. You may still delete a sealed Capsule and write another in its place; a Capsule that has already been delivered can be neither changed nor deleted, because its recipient has read it.

What deletion does. Deleting a Capsule removes it from your vault immediately and stops it being delivered to anyone, permanently. Its contents are retained for 30 days so that you can restore it if you deleted it by mistake. After 30 days the contents and the key that decrypts them are destroyed, and neither you nor TMV can recover them by any means. A record that the Capsule existed and was deleted is kept.

II. Delivery Protocols

Capsules are only released when the following verification protocol is satisfied:

Lapsed Subscription: Your Vault subscription ends, by cancellation or by a failed payment, and is not restored.
Payment Reminders: Three messages sent to you, a week apart. Settling the subscription at any point ends the process.
Guardian Confirmation: A Guardian you appointed confirms that you have died. Where no Guardian responds, the Capsules are released one year after the subscription lapsed. Silence does not keep a Vault sealed: if we cannot reach you and no Guardian answers, the Capsules are delivered at the end of that year.

III. Guardian Responsibilities

When you appoint a Guardian, they must accept the role through a secure link. If your subscription lapses and you do not answer any of the five reminders we send over the following two months, the Guardian is asked, three months after the lapse, to confirm whether you have died. A Guardian is never told what a Vault contains, how many Capsules it holds, or who they are addressed to, and has no legal right to the content of the Vault.

IV. Continuity & Payments

Vault preservation requires an active subscription or a lifetime legacy plan. If a payment fails, we will make every effort to contact you. If your subscription lapses permanently, your vault may enter a "Dormant" state. In this state, capsules are preserved but will only be delivered if a Guardian you appointed chooses to release them.

V. Prohibited Content

While we respect the privacy of your messages, TMV may not be used for illegal activities, harassment, or the storage of credentials for malicious purposes. We reserve the right to terminate service if there is evidence of platform abuse.

VI. Disclaimer of Liability

TMV is a digital preservation service. While we employ extreme measures to ensure delivery, we cannot be held liable for factors outside our control, such as incorrect recipient contact information provided by the owner or changes in global internet protocols over multi-decade spans.