A vault in the cloud, unlocked with a PIN.
Seven plain-English facts about what HearthVault is — and isn't — so there are no surprises for you or the person who one day needs to get in.
1. It's a website, not a program you install
HearthVault runs in your browser at hearthvault.family and on your phone as an app you can add to the home screen. Nothing to download, no home-network setup, no syncing between computers. Your vault is the same on every device, hosted in the United States.
2. You unlock with a PIN or a passkey
Each person in the household has their own name tile and PIN (or a passkey / security key). The vault locks itself when you walk away. There is no username to remember, and you never type a password into our site.
3. Papers come in any way you like
Upload from a computer, snap with your phone camera, forward an email, text a photo, or give the clinic your household fax number. Everything lands in one inbox.
4. Our AI names and files it — on our servers
A document is read once, in memory, so it can be named, filed, dated and have its account numbers masked on screen. We say this plainly: the AI runs on our servers, not on your device, and nothing is kept by the AI provider or used for training.
5. Every file is sealed before it's stored
Each file is encrypted with its own AES-256 key before it reaches storage; passwords and account numbers get a second lock. Each household lives in its own isolated database. No HearthVault staff has standing access, and every sensitive action is written to a log you can read.
6. The right people get the right access
A partner can add and edit. An executor is read-only and must verify their identity with a government ID before requesting access; you choose the waiting period and can decline. Documents you mark “opens to a verified executor right away” — medical directives, healthcare POA — skip the wait.
7. You can always leave with everything
One click produces an AES-256 encrypted zip of every file and record, verified to restore before it's handed to you, readable with free tools. A printable recovery kit refreshes every quarter.
Quick answers
- Is HearthVault the same as the “Hearth” Windows backup app?
- No. HearthVault (hearthvault.family) is an independent cloud service for family documents and estate readiness. It is not affiliated with Hearth Software or any desktop backup product, and it does not use local network “mesh” syncing.
- Is HearthVault a Windows program from the Microsoft Store?
- No. HearthVault is not in the Microsoft Store and has no desktop installer. It is a website at hearthvault.family that also works as a home-screen app on iPhone and Android. If you found a Windows backup program named “Hearth”, that is a different company's product.
- Do I need to set it up on multiple home computers?
- No. There is nothing to set up on each computer and no local-network or “mesh” syncing between them. Your vault lives in the cloud; open hearthvault.family on any computer, tablet or phone and everything is already there.
- Do I need to install anything or pair computers?
- No. Open hearthvault.family in any browser or add it to your phone's home screen. Everything is in one place on every device.
- How does an executor or partner get in during an emergency?
- From any device: they open hearthvault.family, tap their name, enter their PIN, and (for executors) verify their ID once. The owner is notified and has a waiting period to decline; medical documents marked for the executor open right away, and an emergency link + 6-digit code is available for break-glass access.
- Is it zero-knowledge?
- Not for documents — our server must decrypt a file briefly to name, file and search it. Files are encrypted per file before storage and keys live outside the database; see the Security page for the claim-by-claim details.
- What does an executor have to do?
- Tap their name, enter their PIN, verify their ID once, and request access. The owner is told and can decline during the waiting period; medical documents marked for the executor open right away.