A shared safe stays closed for as long as you keep extending its timelock. If you can no longer extend it, the key is released and the person you trust can open the safe. Extending takes seconds, and we remind you beforehand.
The interval
Every shared safe carries an interval: the period the timelock runs for. In the app you set the default under Account › Default timelock and confirm or change it each time you share:
- 1 week and 1 month are available on every plan.
- Custom. Choose 1 to 365 days with Pro.
The web dashboard offers a fixed set of intervals instead of a free number: 7 days and 1 month on every plan, and 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year with Pro.
The safe shows the resulting key date: the moment the key becomes available if nothing changes.
Extend from the app
- Open the Safes tab and pick Shared, then open the safe.
- Tap Extend timelock.
- Use the − and + buttons to choose how many days to add. New key date updates as you go.
- Confirm with Extend until ….
These days are added on top of the current key date, so extending early never costs you time. You can only extend while the key has not been released yet.
Extend from the web dashboard
- Sign in on safelyshare.app and open My Safes.
- Open the safe you want to keep closed.
- Under Timelock Settings, use the extend button. The dashboard extends from now by the safe's own interval.
Use the dashboard when you do not have your phone. It has everything needed to keep a safe closed.
Extend from the reminder e-mail
If your reminder is delivered by e-mail, the message contains a button that opens the extend page in your browser. It asks Extend This Timelock? and shows the safe and its current expiry; opening the page changes nothing by itself. Choose Confirm and Extend Timelock and the new expiry appears.
Each link works once and expires, so ask for a fresh reminder rather than reusing an old message.
Reminders
Set the default for new safes under Account › Reminder. Choose App, Email, or App + email, then choose when the reminder arrives from 1 to 720 hours before unlocking. Each shared safe has its own reminder, which you can adjust in the safe.
Your device determines whether a push notification appears. The exact key date always stays visible in the safe. Check that date if you need to know exactly when the safe will open.
What happens if you forget
- The key date passes and the key is released to the recipient.
- The safe shows that the key has been released and the timelock can no longer be extended. A released safe cannot be locked again.
- The recipient can open the contents on the device that received the safe.
- Both of you are notified that the key was released.
If you stop responding, the safe opens. If you do not want to rely on remembering, Pro can extend eligible safes for you. See the Pro guide.
Good to know
- Only the sender can change a shared safe's timelock; the recipient can see it but not change it.
- You cannot recall a file the recipient has already opened or exported.
- If the key date changed somewhere else in the meantime, the app asks you to check the updated date and try again.
- We do not shorten an active timelock on request. Support can only act on a safe in the rare, audited situations described in our terms.
Need help?
Worried about a safe that is close to its key date, or did an extension not go through? Contact us straight away through the contact page and we will help you check it.