Core Concepts
Check-ins
A check-in tells KinSwitch you're still around, which resets the countdown on any deadman switch set to a check-in schedule. Here's every way to do one, and what happens if you miss the deadline.
What a check-in is
Switches on a check-in schedule (as opposed to a fixed-date schedule — see the Deadman Switches guide for the difference) count down from your check-in frequency — say, every 14 days. Checking in resets that countdown to zero. The shortest check-in window is one day (24 hours). Miss the deadline, and the switch enters a grace period with escalating reminders before it fires.
Every check-in is logged with a timestamp and how it happened, so you always have a record of your own activity.
Ways to check in
Manual, from the dashboard or your switches
Click Check In All on your Switches page or dashboard to reset every active check-in switch at once, or check in to a single switch from its own page.
Quick check-in link (email or SMS)
Every reminder email and text includes a one-click check-in link. Tapping it checks you in immediately — no sign-in needed. The link is a signed, single-purpose token that expires after 24 hours and can only perform a check-in, nothing else on your account.
Automatic, on login
An opt-in setting: turn on auto check-in in your notification preferences and every active check-in switch resets automatically each time you sign in. Handy if you use KinSwitch often and don't want to think about it — off by default.
Switch groups
If you have several switches going to different beneficiaries, you can put them in a switch group. A group has one check-in and one check-in link covering every switch in it, so you're not tracking separate deadlines or handing out separate links for each one.
Joining a group
Adding this switch puts it on the group's schedule and deadline. The switch takes on the group's check-in frequency and grace period, and adopts the group's current deadline exactly, whether that lands sooner or later than the switch's own deadline did.
One set of reminders
Grouped switches share one reminder ladder. You get a single email (and text, if you've opted in) per reminder, naming the group, instead of one per switch. Checking in through the group's link or its check-in button resets every switch in the group at once.
Leaving a group
Removing a switch from a group keeps its current schedule going forward. The switch regains its own reminders in place of the group's.
Paused switches
A paused switch stays paused even while it's in a group. A group check-in resets every active switch in the group, but it never reactivates a paused one.
Reminders before a switch fires
KinSwitch never fires a switch without warning. Before your check-in deadline, and again throughout any grace period you've configured, you'll get reminder emails (and texts, if you've opted in) with a quick check-in link:
- A friendly reminder roughly a day before your check-in deadline (skipped if your check-in period is 1 day).
- If you miss it, reminders run through your grace period with escalating urgency: one a day for grace periods up to 7 days, or at the start, halfway, and 3, 2, and 1 days out for longer ones. Any switch with a grace period also gets a final warning 24 hours before it fires. A switch with no grace period skips straight to the final notice.
- A final notice 3 hours before the switch actually fires. It's your last chance to check in.
Any check-in — manual, quick-link, or automatic — resets this entire ladder back to the start.
Email and SMS reminders
Email reminders go out automatically to your account email — nothing to opt into. SMS reminders are opt-in: add your phone number and enable deadman-switch SMS alerts under Settings → Notifications. Typical volume is 1–5 messages a month, only when action is needed, and you can reply STOP or turn the toggle off at any time. SMS only works for US and Canadian phone numbers — an international number falls back to email-only automatically.
See the exact SMS consent language and opt-out details →Set your check-in schedule
Configure how often you need to check in, grace periods, and reminders on the Deadman Switches guide.
Go to Your Switches