Gideon LanternHow Lantern works
Lantern is a weekly question and a promise: if you stop answering, your message reaches the people you chose. Here is every step, and every deadline.
One cycle
Every successful check-in starts a new cycle from that moment. Call it T:
- T + 7 days
- Lantern emails you: “Are you okay?”
- T + 10 and 12 days
- Reminders, if you haven't answered.
- About a day before
- A final notice, with the exact deadline and the names of your recipients — always at least 24 hours ahead.
- T + 14 days
- The deadline. If you still haven't checked in, your message goes to each recipient who accepted, once.
Checking in at any point — from an email link or your dashboard — starts a new cycle. Your dashboard always shows the exact date and time of your next request and your deadline, in your own time zone.
Safety rules Lantern follows
- Opening a link never counts. Email security scanners open links automatically. A check-in only counts when you press “I'm okay” on the page the link opens.
- Every link works once, and only for the check-in it was sent for.
- You always get a final notice at least 24 hours before your deadline. If that notice can't be delivered, nothing is sent until it can.
- If Lantern itself was down during your week to respond, your deadline moves later by that much. Lantern never sends a backlog of messages the moment it comes back.
- Your message is sent once. After that, Lantern stops. It won't start again unless you turn it back on yourself.
- Check in after the deadline, and anything not yet handed to the email service is stopped. Email that has already been handed over can't be recalled.
- Recipients choose. Each is invited and must accept. They can decline, or withdraw later, at any time.
- Test mode is safe. Until you turn Lantern on, nothing goes to your recipients — tests come only to you.
Questions
I'm going travelling. What should I do?
Pause Lantern from your dashboard. While paused it won't ask you to check in and won't send anything. When you resume, a fresh week starts.
What if your emails go to my spam folder?
Add Lantern's address to your contacts, and use Test to send yourself a check-in. If you miss the weekly email, the reminders and your dashboard are still there.
Can different people receive different messages?
Yes. Write as many as you need, up to one per person, and choose on the Recipients page which message each person receives. Everyone receives exactly one.
Can my recipients read my message now?
No. Their invitation says only that you've named them, not what you've written. They receive your message only if it is released.
Who can read my message?
It's encrypted before it's stored, with keys kept apart from the database. Because Lantern has to send it for you, the service can decrypt it when needed. Don't put passwords or account numbers in it — say where to find them instead.
Is this a will?
No. Lantern sends a message. It doesn't determine death, prove anything, transfer property or appoint anyone. Talk to a lawyer about a will.