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Qpher Legacy FAQ

Is this a will?​

No. Qpher Legacy stores encrypted documents and releases them to people you choose. It does not create a will, does not make a stored document legally valid or enforceable, and does not provide legal advice. Whether any document is legally valid depends on the document itself, not on Qpher. If a document matters to your estate, consult an attorney about testamentary validity. We recommend telling your attorney about your designation.

Will this override my will?​

Where state law gives a designation made through an online tool priority over a will, trust, or power of attorney, you intend that priority to apply; where it does not, your consent and your agreement with Qpher remain the basis for disclosure. Either way it only controls who these stored copies are disclosed to — it does not change who owns your property. If you want your will to control these documents, don't arm the policy — or keep the two consistent.

They're separate apps with separate accounts — even with the same email. Qpher Legacy is built just for what you pass on.

Can Qpher read the documents in a Legacy Vault?​

Your documents are encrypted on your device before upload, and their file and folder names are encrypted too — Qpher stores only ciphertext, and no one at Qpher reads your document contents or names in normal service operation. Release to your heirs works because Qpher's access-controlled key service holds the unlock keys and uses them only when your policy completes. The full trust model, including what this means for legal requests, is in Section 6.5 of the Privacy Policy; for health-related data specifically, see the Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy.

What exactly is encrypted?​

Encrypted on this iPhone, before anything is sent: the contents of every document, and the names of your documents and folders.

Not encrypted — Qpher can read these: your account email; the names and email addresses of your heirs and confirmers, because Qpher has to be able to email them; your policy settings, such as how long the waiting period is and how many approvals you require; and basic details about each file — its size, its general type, when you added it, and a fingerprint used to confirm it arrived intact. That fingerprint can't be turned back into your document, but it would match if someone held an identical copy of the same file.

One detail worth knowing: a document's name travels with the file and is replaced by its encrypted version a moment later. If that step doesn't finish, the app tells you and tries again.

Why post-quantum encryption?​

Because of how long this has to last. Most encryption is chosen to protect things for months or years. A legacy vault has to hold for decades — what you seal today might not be opened until 2050.

That changes what you're protecting against. Someone can copy encrypted files today and simply keep them, waiting for computers that can break the encryption later. Guarding against that means choosing encryption for how long it must hold, not just how strong it looks today.

So your document keys are wrapped two ways at once: X25519, the method in use across the internet now, and ML-KEM-768, which NIST standardized in 2024 to resist attacks from quantum computers. Pairing them means the protection doesn't depend on one algorithm staying sound for thirty years.

"Decades" describes how long the encryption is designed to hold. It isn't a promise about how long any company will operate — if Qpher ever discontinues the service, our Terms commit to at least 180 days' notice and a full export window.

Does Qpher verify that someone has died?​

No. Qpher never decides, and never confirms, that anyone has died. Release is controlled entirely by the owner's policy: a person opens a claim and signs a sworn statement, the owner's confirmers approve it, a waiting period runs, and the owner can veto at any time. In the no-claim-code lane a death certificate is reviewed in good faith as part of a manual check — that is reliance on a document, not verification of death. There are also no check-ins or inactivity timers: the system never infers death from silence.

How does Qpher know I've died?​

It doesn't — and that's deliberate. Release only happens when a real person opens a claim under a sworn legal statement, the approvals you required are given, and a waiting period passes with no cancellation from you.

Do I need confirmers?​

No, but they're your fastest safety check. Without any confirmers, a claim instead waits at least 120 days before release.

How do confirmers work, and who should I choose?​

Confirmers are people you designate to stand between a claim and a release. When someone opens a claim on your vault, each confirmer receives an email link to a page that shows them the name the claimant typed and a partly hidden form of the claimant's email address, asks them to read a short Confirmer Notice, and records one decision: confirm that the owner has died, or deny the claim. The decision is that person's own honest belief — Qpher never makes it for them.

You choose how many confirmations a claim needs when you set up your policy. A claim moves forward only once that number is reached, and if enough confirmers deny the claim that the number can no longer be reached, the claim ends without anything being released. No one can approve a claim they opened themselves, so we recommend at least one confirmer who isn't also the claiming heir.

Choose people who would reliably know what has happened to you and who read their email: a spouse or partner, an adult child, a sibling, a close friend. Being a confirmer doesn't give anyone access to your documents — their approval is one gate among several: the sworn claim statement, the confirmations you required, the waiting period, and your veto.

Can an heir and a confirmer be the same person?​

Yes — one person can hold both roles. But no one can approve a claim they opened themselves, so we recommend at least one confirmer who isn't also the claiming heir.

My designation is sealed — how will my heir ever know?​

With a sealed designation Qpher doesn't contact anyone until a claim is opened, so telling your heir is up to you. Use 'Share claim instructions' on each heir to give them a printable card with everything they need.

What is a claim code?​

An extra code you can set per heir and share privately. With it, a claim moves faster; without it, the claim still proceeds, but it requires a death certificate review, and at least 60 days are added to the wait.

What if I have neither confirmers nor a claim code?​

Both delays add together, not replace each other. No confirmers adds at least 120 days; no claim code adds another 60. Together that's a minimum of 180 days before release — even if you set a shorter waiting period yourself.

Why is there a waiting period? Why not release right away?​

It's your safety window. If a claim is ever wrong or dishonest, the waiting period is what lets you see it and stop it.

Can the owner stop a claim?​

Yes, always — up to the last moment before release. A veto cancels the claim, resets the policy, and notifies everyone involved. Vetoing takes one tap in the app. If the owner cannot sign in (lost device, hospital stay, lost password), Qpher support can place a veto or hold on the owner's behalf after identity verification — email support@qpher.ai. A vetoed policy stays inactive until the owner explicitly reviews and re-arms it.

Someone opened a claim while I'm alive. What do I do?​

We email you immediately — and send a push notification too, if you've turned on Claim alerts. Open the app and cancel the claim — it takes effect immediately, and nothing is released. Canceling resets your policy to draft: review it, consider removing that contact, and re-arm when you're ready.

Can I change my documents after arming?​

Yes. You can add or remove documents and people while armed — changes take effect immediately. (On Legacy Free, an armed plan holds one document.)

What if I change my mind entirely?​

Turn the policy off anytime. Disarming takes effect immediately, and nothing is ever released from a policy that's off.

Are heirs charged anything?​

Never — Qpher doesn't charge your heirs anything. Opening and tracking a claim happens on the web, with no app or account needed. To open the documents at the end they will need the free Qpher Legacy app on an iPhone (currently the US App Store), signed in with a free account.

The documents are decrypted on their own device, so there is no web download. Once they are released they stay available for at least 24 months, so there is no rush — and if an heir is not able to install the app, they should email support@qpher.ai and tell us.

Do my heirs need an iPhone?​

Only at the very end, and only to open the documents. Everything before that — opening a claim, confirming, and tracking its progress — runs on the web, from any device with a browser. No app and no account are needed for any of it.

The one step that needs an iPhone is opening the released documents: that happens in the free Qpher Legacy app (currently on the US App Store), signed in with a free account under the email address the heir was designated at. The documents are decrypted on their own device, so there is no web download. Once they are released they stay available for at least 24 months, so there is no rush — and if an heir is not able to install the app, they should email support@qpher.ai and tell us.

What will my heirs need to receive the documents?​

An iPhone with the free Qpher Legacy app, currently on the US App Store, signed in with the email address you designated. Starting and tracking a claim needs neither — that runs entirely on the web. The documents are decrypted on their own device, so there is no web download. They stay available for at least 24 months after release.

Links are single-use and expire by design, so needing a fresh one is normal — losing a link does not lose anyone's place.

To start a claim, or if the designation email is gone: request a fresh claim link from the claim page at qpher.ai/claim. It asks for the vault owner's email and the email the heir was designated with; if the two match a designation on file, a fresh link is emailed to the designated address. Links are only ever sent to the designated address on file, never to a different one.

After documents have been released: if the receipt link from the release email is lost, the heir should email support@qpher.ai and tell us.

Support confirms the request with the heir first, then a fresh link is emailed — again, only to the designated address on file — and the previous link stops working as soon as the new one is issued. The reissue tool has no option to send a link anywhere else. For anything else that goes wrong with a link, the same address — support@qpher.ai — is the right place to write.

How long do heirs have to download documents after release?​

At least 24 months. After a release completes, the released documents are kept for a 24-month baseline regardless of subscription status, so heirs can claim and download without time pressure. The clock pauses while any claim or estate-dispute freeze is open, and before any removal all known contacts are notified 90, 30, and 7 days in advance.

What terms do heirs and confirmers agree to?​

Heirs and confirmers are not parties to the owner's Terms of Service. Opening a claim requires only a short Claim Attestation (identity, the sworn death statement, and consent to process communications). The full Legacy Receiver Terms — which contain the arbitration agreement and liability cap — are presented for acceptance only at final receipt, when documents are actually delivered.

Is Qpher Legacy only available in the United States?​

For vault owners, currently yes: the Qpher Legacy app is available on the US App Store, and that is where a Legacy Vault is created, armed, and managed.

For heirs and confirmers, no: opening a claim, confirming, and tracking progress all run on the web and do not depend on where a person lives. Opening the released documents at the end needs the free Qpher Legacy app, currently on the US App Store — if an heir is not able to install it, they should email support@qpher.ai and tell us.

Today there is one storefront, so one set of terms applies. If Qpher Legacy becomes available in more App Store regions, we will publish which terms govern before that happens.

What's the difference between Legacy Free and Legacy+?​

Legacy Free protects one thing: one heir, an armed plan with one document, and a vault of up to 10 files. Legacy+ adds multiple heirs, an armed plan of up to 400 documents, a vault of up to 400 files, and bigger uploads. See Settings → Plan.

What happens if the owner stops paying?​

A lapsed subscription does not by itself delete anything. While a policy is armed, the account is protected from automatic deletion, and the claim pipeline and veto keep working.

This is a commitment in the Terms, not just a default. Section 18.9 of the Terms of Service commits that while a policy is armed, Qpher will not delete the Legacy Vault documents, the designation, or the policy because the subscription has lapsed — the policy stays claimable, confirmers can still respond, and the veto and the right to disarm remain available at all times. That commitment is about preservation and continuing control over the policy, not about plan features; it is subject to the service-continuity terms in Section 18.7 (see "What happens if Qpher shuts down?" below), and it does not survive disarming the policy, a veto, or deletion of the account.

How do I cancel my subscription? Can I get a refund?​

Qpher Legacy subscriptions are purchased through Apple In-App Purchase and are managed entirely through Apple:

  • Auto-renewal: the subscription renews automatically at the end of each period, at the price shown on the App Store product page and the purchase sheet at the time you subscribe, unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the current period ends.
  • Cancel: on your iPhone, go to Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Qpher Legacy → Cancel Subscription (or App Store app → your profile → Subscriptions). Canceling stops future renewals; the subscription stays active until the end of the period already paid for.
  • Refunds: Apple handles refunds for In-App Purchases — request one at reportaproblem.apple.com. Qpher cannot issue App Store refunds directly.

Canceling the subscription does not by itself delete your vault or disarm an armed policy — see the question above about lapsed payment.

What happens if Qpher shuts down?​

The Terms of Service make a written service-continuity commitment for Qpher Legacy, and it survives an assignment or sale of the service. If Qpher ever decides to terminate Qpher Legacy — including in a wind-down of the business — the commitment is at least 180 days' advance notice by email and in-app notification, with an export window that runs through the whole notice period.

During that export window, accounts holding an armed policy are switched to an exportable state, so Legacy Vault documents can be exported in the portable encrypted .qpher format (or an equivalent documented format), and all known designated contacts on armed policies are notified. The service may operate in a reduced, export-only mode during the window — new signups and new uploads may be suspended — with export, claim processing, and support remaining available.

The full commitment is in the Qpher Legacy Rider — Section 18 of the Terms of Service.