DGLegacy alternative: what to look for and how PostMortem compares

What does DGLegacy do?

DGLegacy is a digital legacy planning and inheritance app for iOS and Android, with a web app alongside. Its central idea is an asset catalogue: you list bank accounts, insurance policies, investments, property, crypto and other things of value, add notes, documents and passwords to each, and assign beneficiaries and trustees who should be told about them. The pitch is that billions in assets go unclaimed because families never knew they existed.

To decide when to notify beneficiaries, DGLegacy uses what it calls an alive event detection engine, or Heartbeat protocol. It watches for signals that you are still around, such as public activity, biometric logins to the app and periodic confirmation emails, with extra checks, some premium-only, before concluding that a fatal event has happened. Beneficiaries are invited by email, and visibility can be set per beneficiary so some assets stay hidden until then.

It is free to set up, with paid plans that unlock more, and DGLegacy describes its storage as encrypted. In short: a well-developed asset inventory with a multi-signal trigger and a vendor-run process for confirming death.

Why do people look for a DGLegacy alternative?

None of these is a complaint about DGLegacy. They are differences in what people want from a tool that only matters once, at the worst possible time.

• Cost

  DGLegacy's free tier is a starting point; the fuller experience sits behind paid plans. Some people want a tool they set up once and forget, with no recurring charge attached to it for decades.

• A trigger you can reason about

  Multi-signal alive detection is hard to predict. Which public activity counts? What happens when you stop using social media, change phones or go offline for a long trip? Some people prefer a plain inactivity timer: an interval they chose, reminders they can see, and a release they can rehearse. The dead man's switch model trades sophistication for clarity.

• On-device encryption with your own key

  A general encryption claim says little on its own. Many people want to know exactly what is encrypted, where, and who holds the key. If only you and your recipients hold it, the question of who else can read your passwords and letters goes away.

• No account for recipients

  Inheritance apps often invite beneficiaries to sign up. That suits a tech-comfortable adult child less than an elderly parent or a friend who will only ever receive one thing. People want the recipient side to be an email and a link, nothing more.

• Language and locale

  If your recipients read Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Russian or Arabic, an English-only recipient page adds friction at a moment when there should be none.

• Messages, not just assets

  An asset catalogue answers "what did they own?". Many people also want to answer "what did they want to say?": a letter, a voice recording, a list of debts they would rather their family heard from them.

Is PostMortem a good DGLegacy alternative?

PostMortem is a free dead man's switch app for iOS (15.6 or later) and Android in seven languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Russian, Portuguese and Arabic. There is no subscription and no paid tier today. It is a different shape of product from DGLegacy, so it suits a different person.

You create message boxes. Each box holds up to three text messages of any length, as many login credentials and financial records (debts, or assets you want known) as you like, up to five files of 20 MB each (images, PDFs, Office documents, text and CSV, and audio) and one or more recipients, who are just a name and an email. Each box has a check-in interval from one hour to twelve months. You check in with one tap in the app; reminders arrive by email and push at about 60, 70, 80 and 90 percent of the interval. One check-in resets every active box. If the interval runs out, the box is released. Release happens exactly when you set it, after those reminders, so pick an interval you will keep and use the test box first. There is no vendor-run confirmation step; the switch responds to silence, which is the point. If you were in hospital, your family gets what they need; if it was a false alarm, you delete the box and tell them.

Encryption is the part PostMortem does differently. Your messages, passwords, file names and file contents, and debt details are encrypted on your phone with AES-256 before they are uploaded, using a personal access key that you generate and save to your photo gallery. They are decrypted in the recipient's browser. PostMortem's servers never see the plaintext contents. The box name, recipient names and addresses, and the check-in schedule stay readable so that reminders and delivery work. Managed protection is listed as coming soon; today you hold the only key, which is also what keeps PostMortem out of your data. The security page spells this out in full.

Recipients need no account and no app. When a box is released they get an email with a link to a recipient page. They scan the access key card you gave them in advance (a QR-style image) with their phone camera, or upload the card image, and the content decrypts in their browser. They can download a PDF plus a ZIP of the files, and unopened boxes get a reminder every 14 days, up to twelve times. You choose per box whether recipients get an intro email in advance.

Owners manage everything from the phone; the web is for recipients. If you want a full estate inventory with trustees and a managed death-confirmation process, DGLegacy is built for that. If you want a free, private, predictable way to hand over passwords, files and a few last words, PostMortem is.

DGLegacy vs PostMortem: side by side

DGLegacy facts come from its own website and app store listing as of October 2026, kept general; check the current pages before you decide.

• Price

  DGLegacy: free to set up, with paid plans above that. PostMortem: free, no subscription, no paid tier.

• Platforms

  DGLegacy: iOS and Android apps plus a web app for owners. PostMortem: iOS 15.6+ and Android for owners; recipients open released boxes on the web in any browser.

• How it knows you are gone

  DGLegacy: alive event detection combining public activity, biometric app logins, confirmation emails and further checks, some premium-only, before declaring a fatal event. PostMortem: a check-in interval you choose (1 hour to 12 months), four reminders by email and push, then release when the interval runs out.

• Encryption and who holds the key

  DGLegacy: describes stored data as encrypted; the service runs the process. PostMortem: messages, passwords, files and debt details are AES-256 encrypted on your phone with your own key before upload and decrypted in the recipient's browser; box names, recipient addresses and schedule stay readable so delivery works.

• What recipients need

  DGLegacy: beneficiaries are invited by email to the service. PostMortem: an email link plus the access key card you shared in advance; no account, no app.

• What you can leave

  DGLegacy: a structured catalogue of assets with notes, documents and passwords per asset, plus trustees. PostMortem: up to 3 text messages, unlimited credentials and financial records, and up to 5 files of 20 MB (including audio) per box, with as many boxes and recipients as you need.

• Languages

  DGLegacy: check its site for current languages. PostMortem: English, Spanish, German, French, Russian, Portuguese and Arabic.

• Trying it before you rely on it

  DGLegacy: you set up alive events and beneficiaries and trust the protocol. PostMortem: a one-tap test box on a one-hour interval sends a sample message, credential and financial record to your own email so you see a release end to end.

What other DGLegacy alternatives are worth a look?

PostMortem is not the only option, and some of these fit particular needs better. Our broader dead man's switch apps comparison goes into more depth.

• AbsentKey

  A mobile app that flips the model: instead of you checking in, a recipient requests access and gets it automatically if you do not respond within a window you set for them. Paid plans for owners; recipients do not pay.

• LastSend

  An inactivity-timer service on Android, iPhone and the web with a free tier for a few text messages and paid plans above it. After missed check-ins, trusted contacts are asked to confirm before delivery, which adds a human step some people want.

• Google Inactive Account Manager

  Free and built into every Google account: after a period of inactivity you choose, Google can share selected data with people you name. It only covers Google services, but it costs nothing and is a sensible companion to any switch.

How do I switch from DGLegacy to PostMortem?

Moving between tools is mostly a matter of knowing what you have. Allow an evening.

• 1. Export or write down your inventory

  Go through your DGLegacy asset list and note each account, policy, property or holding, the institution, the login, and who it was assigned to. If DGLegacy offers an export, use it; otherwise a spreadsheet is fine. Our digital legacy checklist helps you catch what you missed the first time.

• 2. Decide who gets what

  PostMortem works in boxes, each with its own recipients. A common split is one box per person: a partner box with household passwords and a letter, an executor box with debts and the location of documents. Keep each box focused.

• 3. Install PostMortem and generate your key

  Create an account with email and password. The app generates your personal access key and saves it to your photo gallery. Back that image up somewhere you trust as well, because it is the only key.

• 4. Run the test box

  Before you type a word of real content, tap the test box. It is addressed to your own email on a one-hour interval. Let it release, open the link, scan your card and download the PDF. Now you know exactly what your recipients will experience.

• 5. Fill your boxes

  Add messages, credentials, financial records and files to each box. Choose an interval you will actually keep: monthly works for most people, longer if you travel without a phone. Decide per box whether recipients get an intro email now.

• 6. Share the key cards

  Each recipient needs the access key card to decrypt. Hand it over in person or through a channel you trust, and tell them what it is and to keep it. Without it, the released box cannot be opened.

Frequently asked questions

• Is PostMortem really free, or is there a catch?

  PostMortem is free on iOS and Android with no subscription and no paid tier today. Managed protection is planned as a future option. You can read the current position on the pricing page.

• Does PostMortem detect if I have died, like DGLegacy's alive events?

  No. PostMortem is a check-in timer. You tap check in; if you stop and the interval runs out after four reminders, the box is released. That is deliberate: the behaviour is simple enough to predict and to rehearse with the test box, and the switch responds to silence rather than trying to interpret your online activity.

• What if I forget to check in while I am on holiday?

  Reminders go out by email and push at about 60, 70, 80 and 90 percent of the interval, so a monthly box warns you from day 18 onward. Pick an interval that fits how you live, or lengthen it before a long trip. Our guide to a missed check-in covers what happens step by step.

• Do my recipients need to install anything?

  No. They receive an email with a link, open it in any browser, scan the access key card you gave them with their phone camera or upload the card image, and the content decrypts there. They can download a PDF and a ZIP of the files.

• What exactly is encrypted in PostMortem?

  Your messages, passwords, file names and contents, and debt details are encrypted on your phone with AES-256 using your personal key before upload, and decrypted in the recipient's browser. The box name, recipient names and emails, and your check-in schedule stay readable so reminders and delivery work.

• Can PostMortem recover my key if I lose it?

  No. You hold the only key, which is what keeps PostMortem out of your content. While you are alive you can generate a new key card in the app and reshare it with your recipients. Keep a backup of the card image somewhere safe.

• Does a message in PostMortem count as a will?

  No. A dead man's switch delivers information; it does not create a legally valid will, and the rules vary by country and state. Use it alongside a proper will, not instead of one. This is general information, not legal advice.