Skip to content
Sejf Życia Create your safe

How it works

How Sejf Życia works

You create an account, generate your own encryption key and add documents that are encrypted while still on your device. Then you name account guardians: people who will help open the safe for your family after your death. Below is every step in order: what you do, what to write down and what the limits are.

Try it free for 30 days See pricing
of the full plan free to start
30 days
files on the paid plan
1500
maximum size of one file
15 MB
account guardians
4

Getting started

From signing up to your first encrypted document. Creating the key takes longest: about two minutes.

  1. You create an account

    There are two ways. You can sign up with an email address and password, or through login.gov.pl, signing in with your e-ID card (e-dowód) or the mObywatel app. The Trusted Profile (profil zaufany) cannot be used to sign up for Sejf Życia. With login.gov.pl your name, surname and PESEL are filled in for you, and your identity is confirmed from the start.

    Good to know

    • A new account gets the full plan free for 30 days.
    • An account created through login.gov.pl can also have a regular password, in case login.gov.pl is unavailable.

  2. You log in with a one-time code

    When you log in from a new browser or device, and every few logins, Sejf Życia asks for a 6-digit code. By default it arrives by email. In the settings you can switch to an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator.

  3. You create your encryption key

    The key is created in your browser. For a moment you move the cursor around a marked area, or on a phone you move the device itself. Sejf Życia collects 256 random points from that movement and combines them with the system random number generator, so every key is different. The key never reaches our servers in readable form.

    Good to know

    • You choose how to keep it: download a key file, or protect the key with a separate password that is different from your account password.
    • You get 6 recovery words for the key. Write them down or print them: Sejf Życia does not store them and cannot restore them for you.
    • If you lose both the key and the recovery words, you lose access to your encrypted data.

  4. You add your first document

    Documents are organised in nine areas, from Home and Finances to Health and My will. You can upload a file, fill in a ready-made form (for example for an insurance policy, a bank account or a notarial deed), or on a phone scan a paper document with the camera and merge the pages into one PDF. Everything is encrypted in the browser before it leaves your device.

    Good to know

    • A single file can be up to 15 MB, or up to 10 MB on an iPhone.

  5. You know your plan’s limits

    The paid plan holds up to 1500 files. You can share each folder with at most 10 people, and name up to four account guardians. The dashboard shows how many files you have used.

    Good to know

    • If your subscription expires, you have 30 days to restore your plan and get all your files back.
    • After those 30 days your data moves to an archive for 180 days. From the archive it can only be recovered by opening the safe after an event is reported, for example a death. Once opened this way, the safe is closed. After 180 days in the archive, the data is permanently deleted.
    • Deleted files go to the bin and are removed from it after 30 days.

Before the safe is needed

These steps are not required to sign up, but they decide whether your family gets the documents when you are gone.

  1. You add your PESEL

    Recommended

    If you sign up by email, you add your PESEL in your profile. With login.gov.pl it is already filled in. It allows a report of your death to be checked against the PESEL register*. When the register confirms it, the documents meant for your family are unlocked without a waiting period.

    Good to know

    • Without a PESEL there is a 30-day waiting period in which an account guardian has to confirm the report manually.

    * The status in the PESEL register is checked through Biuro Informacji Kredytowej (BIK, the Polish credit bureau), using your name, surname and PESEL number.

  2. You name your account guardians

    Recommended

    An account guardian is a person who, in the event of your death, confirms the report and helps open the safe for your family. You can name up to four. Each gets an email invitation and creates their own account.

    Good to know

    • By default a guardian cannot see what is in the safe: they can only confirm a report and unlock documents waiting to be shared. Viewing your data is a separate setting.

  3. You decide what to share and when

    For each folder you decide separately who will see it and when: straight away, or only after your death. Folders marked as private are never shared with anyone, even after the safe is opened.

    Good to know

    • People you share documents with use the safe free of charge.

What happens after a death is reported

This is the process when someone reports that you have died. Every stage has a condition: the safe does not open just because a report was filed.

  1. Someone files a report

    A report can be filed by an account guardian or by a person you shared documents with. They choose the type of event: death, disappearance or coma.

    Good to know

    • A saved report cannot be withdrawn.

  2. Check against the PESEL register

    If your PESEL is in the safe, Sejf Życia checks your status in the PESEL register*. When the register confirms the death, the documents meant for your family are unlocked straight away, without the guardian and without a waiting period.

    Good to know

    • The register is checked no more often than once every 7 days.

    * The status in the PESEL register is checked through Biuro Informacji Kredytowej (BIK, the Polish credit bureau), using your name, surname and PESEL number.

  3. 30 days to respond

    If the register does not confirm the death, or there is no PESEL in the safe, a 30-day waiting period begins. During it an account guardian confirms or rejects the report.

    Good to know

    • If the report is a mistake, simply logging in to your safe cancels it.
    • If a guardian rejects the report, the safe stays closed.

  4. The safe is opened

    Once a guardian has confirmed the report and nobody has disputed it for 30 days, the safe is handed over to the guardians to open. A guardian opens it with their own key and password.

    Good to know

    • If nobody confirms the report, the register is checked again. If it still does not confirm the death, the waiting period is extended by another 30 days. After that the register is checked once more: a confirmed death opens the safe, otherwise the case is handled manually.

  5. 180 days of access for your family

    After the safe is opened, the people you shared documents with can access them for 180 days. Folders marked as private are never shared with anyone.

    Good to know

    • It is worth downloading the documents you need during that time, because access ends after 180 days.

Try Sejf Życia for 30 days

Sign up with email or through login.gov.pl. For the first 30 days you get the full plan free of charge.

Try it free for 30 days Check security