A new open-source tool called Secret Key is launching on Product Hunt, and it solves a problem most password-manager users never think about: what happens to your passwords if something happens to you? It’s a self-hosted emergency-access layer for password databases like KeePass — and it’s free.
Secret Key: emergency access for your password database (Credits: Product Hunt)
How Secret Key’s Emergency Access Works
The idea, from maker Mateusz, is simple: if something happens to you, your family is locked out of everything — email, photos, 2FA codes, crypto, bank accounts — because most password managers offer no real way around that. Secret Key fixes it by splitting your master password into pieces using Shamir’s Secret Sharing. You hand the pieces to people you trust, and you decide how many are needed to unlock it — for example, any 3 of 5. One piece alone reveals nothing.
When emergency access is requested, SMS verification is required and a 48-hour timelock begins. You get an email with a one-click Panic Button to cancel access if it’s a false alarm, so you always stay in control.
Who Secret Key Is For and Where to Get It
Secret Key is aimed at anyone who stores credentials in a password database and wants a dead-man’s-switch for the people they trust — open-source, self-hosted, and privacy-first. It’s available through the Product Hunt launch page and the maker’s site at secretkey.website, with the code on GitHub. As with any free security tool, check the source repository and understand the setup before trusting it with your vault.
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Source: Product Hunt — read the full story there.