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A well-organized and mathematically secure vault ensures your heirs can access your digital estate without confusion or compromise. This page explains how Inheribase encrypts every file before it leaves your device, how the vault automatically categorizes your assets, and how storage is funded through the Vault Credits model.

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The Digital Airlock

Every file you store through Inheribase passes through a Digital Airlock — a client-side encryption boundary that guarantees your data never exists in plaintext outside your own device. When you upload a file, the following sequence runs entirely within your browser:
1

Key derivation

A unique AES-256-GCM encryption key is derived from your credentials. No key material is ever sent to Inheribase servers.
2

Encryption

Each file is encrypted byte-by-byte locally before any data leaves your device.
3

Hash generation

A SHA-256 hash is computed from the encrypted blob for integrity verification.
4

Transfer

Only the encrypted blob and its hash cross the network boundary. Plaintext never does.
5

Storage

The encrypted blob is stored permanently on Arweave, where it remains anchored indefinitely.
Inheribase servers never possess your encryption keys. Even under a court order, only encrypted, meaningless data blobs can be produced.

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Vault organization

A well-organized vault prevents your digital estate from becoming a chaotic data dump for your heirs. Inheribase automatically detects and categorizes your assets based on file type:

Documents

PDF, Word, and other text-based files such as contracts, wills, and instructions.

Images

Photographs, scanned documents, and other visual records.

Video

Recordings, video messages, and multimedia files.

Audio

Voice notes, recorded messages, and audio files.

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Best practices for your estate

Follow these practices to ensure your heirs can navigate your vault without confusion:
  1. Use descriptive filenames. Avoid generic names like Important.pdf. Use names like 2026_03_Family_Trust_Final.pdf so heirs immediately understand the file’s purpose.
  2. Include a README file. Add a plain text document explaining what the vault contains, how files should be used, and any relevant instructions for your heirs.
  3. Group logically with prefixes. Use consistent prefix naming — for example, FIN_ for financial documents and LEGAL_ for legal documents — to provide structure across categories.
  4. Review periodically. Remove outdated documents and ensure the current information reflects your estate accurately.
Schedule a vault review at least once a year — for example, after filing taxes or updating a will — to keep your estate current.

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Storage capacity

Inheribase operates on a pay-as-you-go endowment model. You fund your storage with Vault Credits, which are consumed as a one-time fee to anchor your data permanently on Arweave. Once a file is anchored, there are no recurring subscription fees for that storage — your data remains available indefinitely without further payment.
Vault Credits cover permanent storage only. Activity monitoring and the Dead Man’s Switch consume a separate pool of monitoring credits. See Release & Monitoring for details.