The last build-in-public update here said the switch worked and beta was close.

Then the public update feed went quiet for a while. The product did not.

Between January and launch, Trustbourne moved from "the core flow works" to a real paid service: open registration, live subscriptions, clearer encryption modes, multiple vaults, Duo plans, crypto payments, stronger operational reliability, and a better contact experience.

This is the catch-up note.

The beta opened up

The early version already had the main pieces: encrypted vaults, contacts, check-ins, escalation, and release. The next step was letting real people use it without needing me to manually gate every account.

So registration opened, the invite-code wall came down, and the app started moving from test flow to self-serve product.

That also forced a useful amount of polish. Vaults now unlock more smoothly after creation. Check-ins pause when a vault is released and resume if it is unreleased. Email-based two-factor authentication was added as an alternative to authenticator apps. Account activity and security events became visible from settings.

None of that is flashy. All of it matters if this is supposed to still make sense years from now.

Contacts got clearer

The contact flow was one of the first things that needed more than a working backend.

Your contacts should not have to understand Trustbourne in advance. They should not need to pay. They should not need an account just to receive files if your vault is released.

So the contact experience got more explicit: invitations, escalation messages, and the final vault access page were documented and tightened up. There is now a "What Contacts See" page inside the app, and we also wrote the public version here: what your contacts actually see.

The goal is simple: if something happened, your people should see calm, specific instructions instead of a mysterious product email.

Vaults got more flexible

The first vault model was intentionally simple. One place for the important files and instructions.

That is enough for some people. It is not enough for everyone.

Plus now supports multiple vaults, so you can keep different parts of life separate: family documents, business continuity notes, financial records, crypto recovery context, or private instructions for different people.

That matters because a digital estate plan should not mean "everyone gets everything." A spouse, business partner, sibling, accountant, and technical helper may each need a different slice of the plan.

The pricing page now explains this more directly: Core and Plus plans.

Duo became a real plan

One request kept coming up: what about couples?

Duo is the answer, but with an important boundary. It is not a shared vault.

Duo gives two people separate Trustbourne accounts under one discounted annual bill. Each person keeps their own login, vaults, contacts, check-ins, encryption settings, and release rules. The only shared part is billing.

That keeps planning practical without quietly merging private data.

Payments went from test mode to live

Billing moved from testing to production.

You can start a 14-day trial without a credit card, choose a paid plan during the trial, and pay by card, bank transfer, or crypto. Crypto payments are available for BTC, ETH, and supported stablecoins, with a 5% crypto discount for now.

That payment work happened in stages. In March I wrote to the newsletter list that crypto payments were being added alongside ordinary fiat payments. On June 1, Trustbourne moved out of beta and into paid launch with founding member pricing open.

Founding member pricing is:

  • Core: €79/year, instead of the regular €99/year
  • Plus: €149/year, instead of the regular €199/year
  • Launch pricing kept for your first 5 years
  • Available for the first 100 paying users or the first 60 days after launch, whichever comes first

The launch note is archived here: Trustbourne officially launching today.

The earlier crypto-payment note is here: New on the blog, crypto payments, and your input needed.

Reliability work continued

A lot of the work between beta and launch was deliberately boring.

SMS delivery now has a second provider, so check-in messages have a backup route if one provider has trouble. Login alerts are smarter about known networks, so you are not warned about every normal sign-in from home, mobile, or office. Billing upgrades are pro-rated. Pricing breakdowns show VAT more clearly. Escalation and account settings received reliability fixes.

There was also security hardening around two-factor authentication and vault key handling. Vault keys are now protected with hardware-backed key management for an additional operational layer around release.

That kind of work is hard to market and easy to undervalue. It is also the work that makes a dead man's switch less fragile.

The public site caught up too

The marketing site now has a better explanation of what Trustbourne is for:

The product is still the same basic idea: encrypted files, trusted contacts, regular check-ins, and controlled release if you can no longer respond.

The difference is that it is now a launched product, not just a working switch.

If you want to try it, start a free trial. No credit card required.