Resilience & Recovery

Backup, recovery, and platform resilience

Your Digital Will is Protected

Inheritor is designed with multiple layers of protection to ensure your Digital Will remains secure and accessible, even in unexpected situations.

For most users, recovery is simple: Your keys and data sync automatically via iCloud Backup and iCloud Keychain. If you lose your phone or upgrade to a new one, just restore from iCloud backup and everything works.

How Your Data is Protected

  1. iCloud Backup & Keychain — Your private keys and app data sync automatically (both settings are enabled by default on most iPhones, and the app will remind you during setup)
  2. Optional Key Export — Advanced users can export keys for additional backup security
  3. Open-Source Recovery Tools — Public domain command-line tools provide an additional recovery path if needed
The Simple Answer: Keep iCloud Backup and iCloud Keychain enabled (both are on by default on most iPhones), and your Digital Will is automatically backed up and recoverable. The app will remind you to enable both during initial setup. If you lose or upgrade your phone, simply restore from iCloud backup—everything will be there.

Common Scenarios

Lost or Broken iPhone

If your iPhone is lost, stolen, or damaged:

  1. Get a replacement iOS device
  2. During setup, choose "Restore from iCloud Backup"
  3. Select your most recent backup
  4. Reinstall Inheritor from the App Store
  5. Your Digital Will, keys, and data are fully restored

That's it. Everything syncs automatically via iCloud.

Purchased New iPhone

When upgrading to a new iPhone:

  1. During setup, select "Transfer from iPhone" or "Restore from iCloud Backup"
  2. Your keys and app data transfer automatically
  3. Open Inheritor and continue where you left off

Everything works seamlessly. No manual steps required.

Planning for Special Situations

Extended Offline Period

Scenario: You will be in a remote area without Internet access for an extended period (expedition, military deployment, extended travel).

How to Prepare:

  1. Increase the Check-in Frequency in Settings.
  2. Verify the grace-period for each inheritance in the Digital Will tab.
  3. Perform a final check-in immediately before losing connectivity
Calculation: Total time before inheritance becomes claimable = Check-in Frequency + Grace Period. Note that Grace Period is set per inheritance and cannot be adjusted. If you want to increase the Grace Period, Revoke the Inheritance and add it again with an increased Grace Period.
Future Enhancement: A 'pause' functionality is on the roadmap, which will allow testators to temporarily pause check-in requirements until unpaused.

Temporary Incapacitation

Scenario: You are temporarily incapacitated (hospitalized, injured) but expected to recover. You cannot perform check-ins during this period.

Solution 1: Verifiers (Recommended)

Inheritor's optional Verifier feature (Premium only) is designed specifically for this scenario. A Verifier is a trusted individual who must confirm your incapacity before inheritances become claimable, even if check-in deadlines pass.

To assign a Verifier:

  1. Navigate to the Beneficiaries tab
  2. Long press on a beneficiary
  3. Add a trusted individual's contact information as a Verifier

Solution 2: Trusted Individual with Access

If someone you trust has access to your iPhone (spouse, family member) and knows your device passcode, they can perform check-ins on your behalf using your device. Note that Face ID protects the contents of your Inheritances and private key exports from being viewed by others.

Important Distinction: Verifiers are specifically designed to distinguish between temporary incapacitation (hospital, coma, recovery) and permanent incapacitation (death). Without a Verifier, the system cannot make this distinction.

For most users, that's all you need to know. Your Digital Will is protected by iCloud's automatic backup and synchronization. If you want to understand advanced scenarios, technical details, or additional recovery options, expand the section below.

Why Resilience Matters

Traditional digital inheritance solutions fail when the company shuts down, the server crashes, or you lose your device. Inheritor's architectural approach ensures that none of these single points of failure can prevent your Digital Will from executing.

The architectural time-lock* (Patent Pending) at the heart of Inheritor means:

  • Beneficiaries already possess all cryptographic materials needed to claim inheritances
  • Smart contracts on public blockchains autonomously enforce your conditions
  • Encrypted assets reside on permanent, decentralized storage (Arweave)
  • Open-source tools provide platform-independent access
  • No company, government, or third party can prevent execution once conditions are met

This is not resilience as an afterthought—it is resilience as the fundamental architecture. Your Digital Will is designed to outlive any single point of failure, including the very tools used to create it.

▶ Advanced Scenarios & Technical Details

Manual Key Export (Advanced)

Purpose: Create an offline backup of your private keys for use with recovery tools or personal secure storage.

How to Export:

  1. Open Inheritor and navigate to Settings → Advanced → Private Key Management
  2. Select Export Private Keys
  3. Authenticate with Face ID
  4. The app will generate a JSON file named InheritorKeys_YYYY-MM-DD.json
  5. Save this file to secure, encrypted storage (not cloud services or email)

What's Included:

  • Testator Ethereum private key — For smart contract interactions (check-ins, revocations)
  • Beneficiary Ethereum private key — For receiving inheritances and claiming on-chain
  • Beneficiary ML-KEM-768 private key — For decrypting inherited assets via portable decryption path

What's NOT Included:

  • X-Wing private keys — These are hardware-protected, non-exportable by design (Apple security feature)
  • X-Wing keys can ONLY sync via iCloud Keychain, never via export
  • Without X-Wing keys, the iOS app cannot decrypt inheritances
Critical Limitation: Exported keys enable CLI recovery tools ONLY, NOT the iOS app. The iOS app requires X-Wing keys (non-exportable), which can only be restored via iCloud Keychain. If you lose iCloud Keychain access, you must use the CLI tools.
Security Warning: Exported JSON files contain your private keys in plaintext. Anyone with access to these files can control your Digital Will. Store them with the same security level you would use for cryptocurrency hardware wallet recovery phrases.

Unexpected Loss of Access

Scenario: You unexpectedly cannot access the Internet or your iPhone, and you urgently need to check in.

Recovery Options (in order of accessibility):

1. Restore on New iOS Device (Most Common)

  • Acquire any iOS device
  • Restore from iCloud Backup (NOT fresh install)
  • Your Digital Will (keys + Core Data) fully restored
  • Perform check-in normally

2. Verifiers Provide Time Buffer (If Assigned)

  • If you assigned verifiers, missing check-in deadlines does NOT trigger execution
  • You can check in late and return to normal operation
  • Verifier must confirm your status before inheritance becomes claimable

3. Recovery Tools (If Keys Exported)

  • If you previously exported your keys, use the Testator CLI tool from any computer with Internet access
  • Perform check-ins via command line without iOS device
  • Requires: Exported key file + gas wallet with ETH
If None of the Above Apply: If you have not assigned verifiers, cannot restore from backup, and have not exported keys, there is no way to perform check-in. Your Grace Period provides buffer time, but once Check-in Frequency + Grace Period expires, the inheritance will become claimable as designed.

iCloud Features Not Enabled (CRITICAL)

Scenario: You disabled one or both iCloud features (iCloud Backup or iCloud Keychain) and lost your device.

Apple Security Architecture Reality:
When iCloud Backup is enabled but iCloud Keychain is disabled, keychain data IS included in the backup, but it's encrypted with keys tied to your device's Secure Enclave hardware. This means the backup can only be restored to the same device, not a new one.

Consequences by Configuration:

  • Both Disabled: Complete data loss. Neither keys nor app data can be recovered on any device.
  • Backup ON, Keychain OFF: Backup exists but keychain data is hardware-tied. Cannot restore to a NEW device.
  • Backup OFF, Keychain ON: Keys sync but Core Data cannot be restored.

Bottom Line: BOTH iCloud Backup AND iCloud Keychain are required for recovery on a new device.

Critical Warning: During initial setup, Inheritor explicitly warns that BOTH iCloud Backup and iCloud Keychain must be enabled. If you are in this scenario, you consciously disabled one or both features despite this warning. For new device recovery, you must use the CLI recovery tools.

Phone + iCloud Access Catastrophically Lost

Scenario: You permanently lose access to your iPhone, iCloud Keychain, AND iCloud Backups (e.g., Apple ID compromised and irrecoverable).

If You Have Exported Keys:
You can use the open-source CLI recovery tools to perform check-ins, revoke inheritances, and manage your Digital Will.

If You Have NOT Exported Keys:
This scenario is unrecoverable. Like losing a cryptocurrency hardware wallet without its recovery phrase, your private keys cannot be regenerated.

Self-Custody Reality: Inheritor's security model—like all true self-custody systems—means no company, government, or third party can recover your keys if you lose them. This is intentional.

Prevention:

  1. Enable BOTH iCloud Backup AND iCloud Keychain (REQUIRED)
  2. Export your keys — Store in secure offline storage for CLI tool fallback
  3. Set adequate grace periods — Provides buffer time for recovery if needed

Platform & Infrastructure Scenarios

Inheritor App Removed from App Store

Scenario: The Inheritor app is no longer available on the Apple App Store.

Impact: Minimal. Your On-Chain Digital Inheritances continue to operate autonomously on the blockchain.

Testator Options:

  • Existing Installations: If you already have Inheritor installed, it will continue to function
  • Recovery Tools: Use the open-source Testator CLI tool to manage your Digital Will
  • Community Clients: The encryption format is open and public domain
Liveness Guarantee: This is a core design principle. Your inheritances do not depend on the Inheritor company, app, or any centralized infrastructure. The smart contracts execute autonomously.

Inheritor Company Ceases Operations

Scenario: Inheritor BV completely shuts down—no support, no updates, no new features.

Impact: Minimal. Inheritor has zero company infrastructure. The app communicates directly with the blockchain.

What Continues to Work:

  • App remains available in the Apple App Store (Apple controls distribution)
  • In-app purchases continue to function (Apple processes payments)
  • Smart contracts execute autonomously on Ethereum/Arbitrum
  • Encrypted assets remain permanently stored on Arweave
  • Open-source CLI tools remain publicly available on GitHub

What Eventually Changes:

  • Biconomy gas sponsorship will eventually deplete (no company to refill gas tanks)
  • Once depleted, users must switch to CLI recovery tools and pay their own gas fees
  • Alternatively, users can revoke inheritances and arrange things the traditional way
Architectural Independence: Inheritor is designed with zero company infrastructure. The app is merely an interface to public blockchain infrastructure. Even after company shutdown, your Digital Will continues to operate autonomously.

Recovery Resources

Open-Source Recovery Tools

Inheritor provides public domain command-line tools that enable complete Digital Will management without the iOS app.

Repository: https://github.com/Inheritor-app/public

Available Tools

1. Testator CLI Management Tool (scripts/Testator.js)

For testators to manage their Digital Will when the Inheritor app is unavailable:

  • View status of all inheritances in your Digital Will
  • Perform check-ins to reset inheritance timers
  • Revoke inheritances to permanently cancel them
  • Remove verifiers from your Digital Will

2. Beneficiary Check Tool (scripts/Beneficiary_CheckClaimable.js)

For beneficiaries to monitor incoming inheritances:

  • View all inheritances designated to your address
  • Check if specific inheritances are claimable

3. Beneficiary Claim Tool (scripts/Beneficiary_Claim.js)

For beneficiaries to claim and decrypt inherited digital assets:

  • Verify inheritance is in "Claimable" state
  • Retrieve and decrypt the symmetric key
  • Download and decrypt the inherited digital asset from Arweave
Reference iOS App Coming Soon: An open-source reference iOS app is currently in development and will be released in the near future. This app will enable revocations, check-ins, and claims without requiring command-line knowledge.
Public Domain & Auditability: These tools are released into the public domain to guarantee liveness and auditability. The CLI scripts demonstrate the exact API that the Inheritor app uses—proving there are no hidden exfiltration channels or secret backdoors. Anyone can inspect, audit, fork, or build interoperable clients.

Support Resources

If you're experiencing issues not covered in this guide:

When Asking for Help: Include your app version, iOS version, and a clear description of the scenario. For privacy and security, never share your private keys, recovery phrases, or exported key files with anyone.