Data Continuity Policy

Effective Date: March 2, 2026  |  Last Updated: March 2, 2026

IOU, INC is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. We take the long-term stewardship of your data seriously — especially legacy capsules, which represent promises to the people you care about most. This policy explains what happens to your data under various circumstances.

Your Data, Your Copy

You can download a complete copy of your capsules at any time from the Capsules page using the "Download All" button. The download is protected with AES-256 encryption — you set a password before downloading, and the ZIP file cannot be opened without it. The export includes:

  • Letter text as plain text files
  • All media attachments (photos, videos, audio, documents)
  • A machine-readable manifest with metadata, recipient info, and SHA-256 integrity hashes

We strongly recommend keeping a local copy of your capsules. No platform lasts forever, and your data should not depend entirely on us.

If IOU Ceases Operations

In the event that IOU, INC ceases operations, we commit to the following:

  1. Advance notice: We will provide at least 90 days written notice to all active users via email before shutting down.
  2. Data export window: During the notice period, all data export features will remain fully functional so you can download your capsules and other data.
  3. Capsule delivery attempt: For any sealed capsules that have not been released, we will make a good-faith effort to deliver them to their designated recipients before shutdown.
  4. Successor transfer: We will attempt to transfer data stewardship obligations to a qualified successor organization. If a successor is found, your data will be transferred with the same privacy protections.
  5. Secure deletion: If no successor is found and the notice period has elapsed, all data will be securely deleted from our servers.

Data Integrity

Every sealed capsule is protected by a SHA-256 cryptographic hash computed at the time of sealing. This hash covers the capsule contents, recipient information, and all attachment file hashes. You receive a copy of this hash via email when you seal a capsule, and it is verified each time you view your capsules.

Your data is stored with encryption at rest (AWS) and all connections use TLS encryption in transit.

Infrastructure

Your data is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the US East region with the following protections:

  • S3 versioning enabled (protects against accidental deletion)
  • Automatic storage optimization (S3 Intelligent-Tiering)
  • Web Application Firewall (AWS WAF)
  • Tamper-evident audit log with hash-chain integrity

Account Deletion

If you have sealed or released capsules, you must revoke them before deleting your account. This is intentional — sealing a capsule is a commitment to your recipients, and we want to make sure you deliberately choose to break that commitment before erasing the data.

Questions

If you have questions about this policy or our data practices, contact us at support@ioutoday.org.