Offering precautionary measures for people to manage and regulate their digital legacy.

This project helps to manage and regulate your digital legacy. In an easy way, one can determine heirs for some files, while other files can be prepared to disappear with you. Digital legacy contains every kind of data you have, no matter if it’s located on your device or part of an online service you are using.

My Role

Research, Conception, UI/UX Design

Team Members

Leon Schlechtriem, Moritz Dobernecker

Year

2015

What is a digital legacy?

While all the things you can touch, will be passed on to someone by law or through a will. A big unsolved question is what will happen to all your digital belongings like music, photos, movies, documents, accounts and web spaces. Some of these things may be fine remaining for remembrance. Others like contracts and bills, which nowadays often only exist in a digital form, should be taken care of.

How does it work?

The devisor needs to install the software and order one of our a special storage device for each heir. When the device is plugged into the computer, a new heir can be created in the software, who then is related to this device only.

Now the storage device can be deposited at a safe place, like at the notary. While deposited, there is no data on the device. The software allows the devisor to add data, to all of his heirs or mark secret data, which will disappear with him. There is also an option to comment on the content.

How will my heir get the digital legacy?

In the case that the testator dies, the devices will be given to the chosen heirs. Each heir has to plug his device into the computer of the testator once. When a prepared device is plugged in, the software will delete all data marked as ‘secret files’. At the same time, all data related to the heir is copied onto the device together with the software for the heir.

Thanks to the software, the heir can now view the digital heritage with comments and wishes from the testator.

Software for the testator

Add data you want to pass on to one or more heirs. You are also able to add comments and wishes for every single file or account. You have full control over who will get your data and which data will stay your secret forever. Different views allow you to always maintain your overview.

Software for the heir

Browse through your heritage, see comments, wishes and additional information. You can also check which tasks you have finished and which still need to be done. You can export any files onto any device you want. An intelligent search allows you to always find what you need.

Individual Hardware

Our hardware is not just a hard drive but also a key and a very personal object. It is built to transfer data but only in one direction: the digital heritage will be copied onto the device but one cannot delete any data. A device can only be related to one heir, which makes it a very personal object. Therefore, we decided to let the customer generate a unique 3D polygon shape based on the letters of the names as parameters to individualize it.

Individual

An elegant, but very unique 3D polygon shape.

LED Information

Three little LEDs show if the device is working.

Connection

Extremly fast connection with USB-C.

More than just a medium

Our hardware is not just a hard drive but also a key and a very personal object. It is built to transfer data but only in one direction: the digital heritage will be copied onto the device but one cannot delete any data.

The Construction

The device not only has a separate cover plate with the unique shape but also exchangeable components like the connection. These components will allow for a long-term usage of 20 or more years.