Legal
Terms of Service
These terms of service are the rules for using EchoKindred: you own your content, how heir access works, the 30-day refund, and how long we keep your data.
Effective Date: November 22, 2025 | Last Updated: November 3, 2026
You own 100% of your content. EchoKindred acts solely as a secure custodian.
1. Acceptance of Terms
By accessing and using the EchoKindred service, you accept and agree to be bound by the terms and provisions of this agreement. If you do not agree, do not use the service.
We only grant vault access to verified heirs based on your explicit instructions.
2. Digital Legacy and Access
You are responsible for designating a Digital Executor. Access to your protected data will be granted only after the designated heirs or executor complete the verification steps you set up, including proof review and submission of your unique security code when required. Your Digital Account Vault is encrypted at rest with AES-256 and protected with TLS in transit; decryption is limited to the automated systems that serve your data back to your own authenticated session, or to a verified heir's session once your succession protocol has authorized their access. For a plain-language overview of how heir access works, see our Help Center on legacy and heir access.
3. EchoKindred SMS Program
EchoKindred offers optional SMS messages, including: (a) SMS confirmations when you save stories via email, text, or in the app, and (b) optional weekly memory prompts. Participation is not required to use EchoKindred.
By enabling SMS options in your account settings and verifying your mobile number, you consent to receive SMS messages from EchoKindred at the number you provide. Message frequency varies. Msg&data rates may apply.
You can opt out at any time by replying STOP to any message, disabling the relevant toggles in your account settings, or removing your phone number. For help, reply HELP or contact support@echokindred.com.
4. Technical Continuity
EchoKindred commits to maintaining your data in accessible, standard formats. We will provide at least sixty (60) days' advance notice for any material structural changes to the service that could affect how you or your heirs access your content. During that period, you may export your data or adjust your arrangements as needed.
5. Data Retention and Inactive Accounts
We preserve your archive indefinitely during normal operations. If your subscription lapses, your archive moves to read-only mode and remains accessible. You can resume writing anytime with a one-day editing pass or by re-subscribing.
Unconverted free trials are different. After your 14-day trial ends, if you do not log in for thirty (30) consecutive days, we may permanently delete the account and its associated data. We send a warning email before deletion when practical. Choosing a paid plan keeps your archive under the normal retention rules below.
Lifetime and Heirloom seats keep a perpetual access promise: we do not delete those archives for inactivity. After three (3) consecutive years with no login, we may move media to cold storage (hibernation) to control hosting cost. Your right to return remains. The next successful login wakes the seat; restoring large media may take additional time.
Gift purchases are paid at checkout. The gifted term does not begin until the recipient first logs in and activates the gift. Time spent waiting to redeem does not consume the gifted period.
For other paid seats that are not Lifetime, we reserve the right to archive or permanently remove data from accounts that show no login activity or payment for seven (7) or more consecutive years. Active subscribers, accounts with any login activity, and heir accounts are never affected by that seven-year policy. Before removing any inactive paid data, we will make reasonable efforts to contact you at your registered email address.
6. 30-Day Refund
If EchoKindred is not for your family, you can ask for a full refund within thirty (30) days of your first payment for a plan. This covers the Monthly, Annual, and Lifetime plans (Family Continuity and Archival Heirloom). If you chose to pay a Lifetime plan in three payments, we refund every payment made so far and cancel the rest. You do not need to give a reason.
The thirty days start on the date of your first charge, not the day you started the free trial. The refund applies once per account, to your first purchase of a plan. Later renewals, add-ons (such as the one-day editing pass or extra storage), and printed or physical items are not covered by this refund. For a gift, the person who paid can ask within thirty (30) days of the purchase date.
To ask, email support@echokindred.com from the email on your account. We refund the full amount to the original payment method; it usually appears within 5 to 10 business days, depending on your bank.
When we issue the refund, the paid plan ends. Nothing you saved is deleted right away: your archive moves to read-only mode, as if the plan had lapsed (Section 5), and you can still download a copy of everything. Accounts terminated for misuse under Section 7 are not eligible.
7. User Conduct
You agree not to use the service to store illegal, defamatory, or harmful content. Any misuse may result in immediate termination of your account without refund.
This section explains the standard legal limits on liability that apply if the service is unavailable, interrupted, or misused.
8. Limitation of Liability
EchoKindred is not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from the use or inability to use the services. Our total liability is limited to the fees paid by you for the preceding twelve (12) months.
9. Contact
For questions about these Terms, contact us at support@echokindred.com.
Ready to preserve your legacy?
Start in minutes.
No credit card required. Cancel anytime.