Gone Man’s Switch reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TrainingHighlight790 · 2023-11-30 06:14 Gone Man's Switch is a simple web application that allows you to create messages that will be delivered by email when you are absent (gone) for a certain period, AKA a dead man’s switch. It is a free self-hosted alternative to deadmansswitch.net. It doesn’t have as many features, but it does the job. More info in the GitHub repo: https://github.com/jhonderson/gone-man- switch ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-11-30 06:21 May I suggest to try to reach the recipient via multiple channels like phone call, SMS and instant messaging apps and not just Email? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Calm-Helicopter-3212 · 2023-11-30 06:33 Aside from the obvious, what are the wider use cases for this type of app? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Minituff · 2023-11-30 06:47 Very impressive work ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FuriousRageSE · 2023-11-30 07:34 Setting this up can become quite costly, specially if you need to include calls and text messages, even bulk buying sms' costs a bit, specially if you are a solo dev/small-to-solo dev company. Emailing it more or less free to setup. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FuriousRageSE · 2023-11-30 07:34 Now you wont have the need to ask you Bro's to clear your browser history anymore.. set this up to auto delete everything. :D ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-11-30 07:35 As far as I understand I self-host this software, so it’s my, not the developers, responsibility to provide these services? The developer just has to add the option I can add stuff like Twilio, he does not have to pay for it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ExtensionCricket6501 · 2023-11-30 07:37 I learned this from somewhere else where someone talked about a similar problem, and someone responded that if your application supports sending simple emails, apparently there are [email to sms bridges](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_gateway) that are carrier specific. However I tried them myself and I guess ymmv with message delivery reliability. I actually think these are abused quite a lot because I get a lot of spam text messages with emails in their name. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WiseCookie69 · 2023-11-30 07:50 I'd set up something like that, to hand out the password to a (previously prepared) Keepass database, in case something happens to me. To have everything readily available for my loved ones, to aid with cleaning up after me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Amazing_67 · 2023-11-30 08:04 I mean if it comes to that point, you are dead anyway. Should we still care about the cost lol ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Calm-Helicopter-3212 · 2023-11-30 08:10 Ok, that makes sense. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FuriousRageSE · 2023-11-30 08:32 I was probably thinking that OP turned this into a company to sell this service etc when i replied. :D ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GherkinP · 2023-11-30 09:06 Emails in the name (if on iPhone) are often spammy iCloud accounts sending spam. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-11-30 09:37 Not everything has to be a startup. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Special-Swordfish · 2023-11-30 11:17 Simple. Elegant. Does what it needs to do. I tip my hat to you good sir. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mirisbowring · 2023-11-30 12:39 I think if you are dead, you can stop caring about your browser history :D ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mirisbowring · 2023-11-30 12:44 How long should one configure the „absence“ time? I mean i dont want to click „I am alive“ daily. But also my Family would not want to wait half a year until they get access to our systems. Even 20days or so could be too small. Imagine you have an accident and are in the hospital „Intensivstation“ for this period. You are alive and will survive but cannot „check in“ and therefore the switch would fire ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FuriousRageSE · 2023-11-30 13:04 But.. what if it doesn't stick? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TIL_IM_A_SQUIRREL · 2023-11-30 13:49 I know this is self hosted, but if you go away for a time, your infra will probably stop too, so this makes sense for a service rather than something you host. I've thought about starting a service for this. Have the ability to send messages to different contacts through email, sms, or pre- recorded message. I even thought about making a physical device that you could press, say every day, and it would send an API call to the service and realize you're still alive. Is this something that people would actually consider paying for? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- acidobinario · 2023-11-30 16:59 A custom http request (or a serial command?) so you can set up a raspberry pi or a microcontroller or whatever connected to a sim card to send and sms you just charge the card and let it like that in a sealed box or whatever ---------------------------------------------------------------------- acidobinario · 2023-11-30 17:04 The only thing left of you would be the memory or ideas people have of you so you would want those ideas going away or changing for not deleting your browser history lol ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NotTryingToConYou · 2023-11-30 17:32 I'd also recommend putting info like this in your will in case software fails you ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bigboicarlo · 2023-11-30 18:32 What could be great here is to have the possibility of a trusted third party to request “early release” - this could then prompt the user for acceptance or not with a shorter time frame. We would however need to make sure this is not abused ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TrainingHighlight790 · 2023-11-30 18:34 That’s a good discussion to have. To me the answer is for how long do I think the server where I’m running this system will still be available. If I am hosting this in the cloud maybe that’s 1 or 2 months (I guess someone will cancel my credit card), if hosting at home maybe as long as I told my family to let it on. Also, the longer you choose the checkin schedule, the more your family will probably have to wait. For me 1 or 2 months is fine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TrainingHighlight790 · 2023-11-30 18:41 That makes sense. A workaround for that is to hosting this in the cloud, with some anual plan. I think systems like this will be needed more and more, so I do see people paying for more features, but who knows. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TrainingHighlight790 · 2023-11-30 18:45 Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll think about how to implement connectors like that, at least with well known providers such as aws sns. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TrainingHighlight790 · 2023-11-30 18:46 Thanks ! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TrainingHighlight790 · 2023-11-30 18:46 Thanks ! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-11-30 19:01 Perfect! Keep grinding. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ramos96 · 2023-11-30 20:35 I have one set up to do several things for when it is my time, I made it fun and have a pop up box with questions, if you pass the questions it won’t activate. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- spitcool · 2023-11-30 22:12 there’s a law and order episode about this :-D ---------------------------------------------------------------------- shouldabeenapirate · 2023-12-01 03:07 I have hidden a treasure from my family fortune. A series of clues have been stored in various physical and digital forms around the world and the internet. The first clue will be sent using this web app. The recipients will be a distribution list of my closest family, friends, and one of you reading this. Reply here and I will determine a method to choose one you. Let’s the mystery……begin! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- that_one_wierd_guy · 2023-12-01 03:24 the only issue I can foresee about such a service is how to guarantee privacy. since most of the info to be passed along is likely to be of a sensitive nature ---------------------------------------------------------------------- that_one_wierd_guy · 2023-12-01 03:25 sounds like the plot to a tim curry movie ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok-Snow48 · 2023-12-02 12:37 Excellent job! Installed easily on an Ubuntu VM on my Synology NAS. I have taken an approach where I get a weekly email and have 5 days to respond. Even if I am travelling, I'll have email. If I don't, something is wrong! I don't mind confirming I am alive once a week. Heaven knows I deal with a lot more "spam" than that each day! I could see this as being useful not only for end of life but also major trips where some risk is involved. "If you don't hear from me by XX date, alert the police" kind of thing (along with sending coordinates of the start of the trip). In this instance, perhaps I'd set the *respond by* to the length of the trip and sending the message after only one day if I didn't respond. Just spitballing. Thanks for making this! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AhmedBarayez · 2023-12-04 13:18 Looks great and i'll try it to make things simple, however, I've created a python script that's running on oci vm just for this situation before, it's basically checking a heartbeat every xx hours from [betterstack.com](https://betterstack.com), if there is no heartbeat within 5 days window, it will first send a warning email to my email -just in case- to abort it, if there's no response, it will send a detailed email to specific people ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TrainingHighlight790 · 2023-12-05 08:49 The project now supports delivering messages and chick-in notifications not only via Email, but also via SMS (Twilio) and Telegram messages 🙏 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-12-05 09:06 That is very cool 😊