ElderVault

Support

For help, email support@eldervault.app.

If something isn't syncing or sharing as it should, it helps to include a diagnostics report from each device involved: in ElderVault, open Settings, then Diagnostics, then Copy as text, and paste it into your email. The report contains counts, identifiers and iCloud state only: no names, contacts, medications, accounts or documents.

Please don't email care information, account numbers or passwords. We never need them to help you.

Frequently asked questions

Who can see what I keep in ElderVault?

You, on your own devices, and the people you share sections with. ElderVault keeps your information on your devices and in your own iCloud account. Mighty Yak Labs runs no server that holds it and cannot read it. The details you type are encrypted on your device before they are stored in iCloud. The privacy policy has the details, including the few things iCloud needs unencrypted to work.

How does sharing work?

• Each relative's profile has six sections: Directory, Medical Log, Financial Vault, Calendar, Care Tasks and Document Vault. You share them one at a time, so the person who handles money can have the Financial Vault without the Medical Log.
• Each section is its own invitation, sent through Apple's sharing sheet. For each one you choose whether the person can make changes or only view.
• The person you invite needs ElderVault, an Apple Account and iCloud. They accept each invitation once.
• If you stop sharing a section, it is removed from the other person's devices the next time they sync. Anything they already exported, printed, copied or photographed stays with them.

What does ElderVault cost?

• Everything in ElderVault is free except sharing sections with other people. People you invite never pay, whatever you share with them.
• Two ways to pay: an annual subscription ($29.99 a year in the US) or Lifetime ($79.99, paid once). Both unlock the same thing, and both are shared with your Family Sharing group. Prices vary by country.
• A one-week free trial comes with the annual subscription, the first time an Apple Account takes it. Cancel at least 24 hours before the week ends and nothing is charged.

What happens if a renewal payment fails?

If a renewal can't be charged (an expired card, say), Apple keeps trying to collect it for 16 days, and sharing keeps working in the meantime. Update your payment details in your Apple Account and nothing changes. If the payment still hasn't gone through by the end, the subscription ends.

What happens when a subscription ends?

Nothing already shared is taken away. Sections you have shared stay shared, and the people on them keep everything. You can still remove people and stop sharing. What needs the purchase again is sharing a section that isn't shared yet.

I subscribe. Can I switch to Lifetime?

• Yes, for less than Lifetime costs new ($49.99 in the US): Settings, then Sharing purchase, then Switch to Lifetime. It is offered once your first paid year has begun, not during the free trial or any other free period.
• Apple does not cancel your annual subscription when you buy Lifetime, so straight afterwards ElderVault offers a button to your subscriptions so you can cancel it, if it is still set to renew.
• Apple's cancel screen will say your service ends on a date. That is only the annual subscription. Lifetime has no end date, and sharing stays on.
• If you skip that step, cancel any time in your iPhone's Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions, or in ElderVault's Settings, then Sharing purchase, then Manage Subscription.

My purchase isn't showing on a new device.

Purchases normally appear on their own. If one doesn't, open Settings, then Sharing purchase, then Restore Purchases.

How does exporting work?

• Export makes one PDF of the sections you choose, from your own profile or from sections shared with you. Anyone who holds a section can export it, including people who can only view it.
• The PDF asks for a password you choose each time. ElderVault does not keep it; if it is lost, export again. The password can be turned off in Settings, under Export, and then the PDF opens for anyone who has it.
• Account and routing numbers show only their last four digits, and website sign-ins and photos of accounts are left out, unless you turn on "Full account numbers and sign-ins", which needs the password.
• Once shared or saved, the PDF is a copy outside ElderVault. ElderVault cannot lock it, take it back or delete it, and later changes do not reach it.
• On a Mac, export saves the PDF wherever you choose instead of opening the share sheet.

Can text be copied out of a PDF stored in ElderVault?

Yes. ElderVault's viewers have no Share button, so a photo or file can't be sent out of the app from its viewer. But text in a PDF, such as a scanned will or an insurance policy, can be selected and copied, and once it is on the clipboard it can be pasted into any other app.

Can ElderVault put appointments in my calendar?

• Yes. ElderVault can keep every appointment in one of your calendars (Settings, then Calendar), and you can add a single appointment to any calendar from its own screen. Either way it is kept up to date: moved when the appointment moves, removed when it is deleted.
• ElderVault needs full calendar access for that, because keeping an event up to date means finding it again. It looks only in the calendars you choose, for events it added.
• An event shows whose appointment it is ("Mom: Dentist"), when and where, never the notes. A calendar is outside ElderVault's protection: it may be shared, synced to iCloud, Google or Exchange, and shown on the Lock Screen.
• Turning off the kept calendar removes ElderVault's appointments from it. If you delete a single added appointment in the Calendar app, it is gone for good; ElderVault does not put it back.
• Each device has its own setting. If two of your devices use the same calendar, ElderVault recognizes appointments the other one added, and if both added one before seeing the other's, it keeps one and removes the other. A calendar that does not keep ElderVault's link on an event (some Exchange calendars) can still show an appointment twice.

What do reminders show on my Lock Screen?

By default, nothing that identifies anyone: for example, "Appointment tomorrow at 10:00" and "Open ElderVault for details." A setting on each device (Settings, then Reminders) adds your relative's name and the item's title. A paired Apple Watch shows the same text. Everyone who holds an item is reminded on their own devices, on each device's own schedule, and each device can be set to remind only about tasks assigned to you.

Can I use ElderVault on a Mac?

• Yes, on a Mac with Apple silicon, where ElderVault runs as its iPad app. Your information syncs with your iPhone and iPad through iCloud.
• On iPhone and iPad, ElderVault's stored information is encrypted by the device whenever it is locked. On a Mac it is not encrypted while you are logged in, even with the screen locked: the Mac protects it with FileVault only when it is shut down. ElderVault's own lock still asks for Touch ID or your password before showing anything.
• If that matters for your family, use ElderVault on iPhone and iPad only, or turn on FileVault and shut the Mac down when it is left unattended.
• On a Mac, Manage Subscription opens your subscriptions in the App Store.

Is ElderVault medical, legal or financial advice?

No. ElderVault helps families organize care information. It is not a healthcare provider and does not give medical, legal or financial advice.

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