How survivors decrypt, download, and verify documents after threshold authentication in Burning Ash Protocol.

Accessing Documents

Once the threshold is met, survivors can access the decrypted will documents. This guide covers the process.

Prerequisites

Before accessing documents, you must:

Be a designated survivor
Have verified your identity via OTP or backup code
Have threshold (K-of-N) survivors authenticated

Access Notification

When threshold is met, you'll receive notification:

Burning Ash Protocol

The threshold has been met! You can now access [Host Name]'s will documents.

Visit the portal to view and download: [link]

The Access Portal

Initial Screen

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                 WILL DOCUMENTS                              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                              │
│  Congratulations! The access threshold has been met.        │
│                                                              │
│  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│                                                              │
│  PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM HOST:                                │
│  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│  "Dear Family,                                             │
│                                                          │
│   If you're reading this, I'm gone. I wanted to           │
│   make sure you had access to these important             │
│   documents. I love you all..."                          │
│                                                              │
│  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│                                                              │
│  YOUR DOCUMENTS:                                            │
│  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│                                                              │
│  📄 last_will_and_testament.pdf    2.4 MB    ✅ Verified  │
│  📄 insurance_policy_details.pdf   1.1 MB    ✅ Verified  │
│  📄 account_passwords.odt          340 KB    ✅ Verified  │
│  📄 letter_to_family.docx         125 KB    ✅ Verified  │
│                                                              │
│  [Download All as ZIP]   [View Individual]                  │
│                                                              │
│  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│                                                              │
│  ⚠️ Access expires in 5 days, 12 hours                     │
│                                                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Document List

Each document shows:

Icon — Based on file type
Filename — Original name as uploaded
Size — File size
Status — ✅ Verified or ⚠️ Warning

Viewing Documents

Individual Viewing

Click on any document to view in-browser:

PDFs can be viewed in browser
Images display directly
Text files shown as plain text

Download Options

Download All (ZIP)

Creates a ZIP archive of all documents:

Click "Download All as ZIP"
System creates archive (may take time for large files)
Browser downloads ZIP file
Extract to view individual files

Individual Download

Click document row to download single file:

Click document
Download starts automatically
File saves to your device

Document Integrity

Verification Status

Each document shows verification status:

Status	Meaning
✅ Verified	SHA-256 hash matches; document intact
⚠️ Warning	Hash mismatch; document may be modified

Hash Verification

When documents are encrypted:

SHA-256 hash of original is computed
Hash is stored in database
When decrypted, hash is recomputed
If match → ✅ Verified
If mismatch → ⚠️ Warning

If Warning Shown

If you see ⚠️ Warning:

Document may have been tampered with
Access is still provided
Consider investigating
Log was created for security team review

Download Expiry

Time Limit

Access window is 7 days (default) from threshold met.

Expiry Notification

You'll see:

Countdown timer on portal
Email notifications as deadline approaches

After Expiry

When access window ends:

Documents are re-encrypted
New SSS shares generated
Portal shows "Access Expired"
New transfer would need to be initiated

Download URLs

Presigned URLs

Documents are accessed via presigned URLs:

Time-limited (typically 1 hour)
Single-use option available
Specific to your session

URL Properties

Cannot be shared publicly
Expire after set time
Tied to your verified session

File Types Supported

Viewable In-Browser

Type	Extension	Viewer
PDF	.pdf	Built-in PDF viewer
Images	.jpg, .jpeg, .png	Built-in image viewer
Text	.txt	Plain text display

Download Required

Type	Extension	Notes
Word	.doc, .docx	Download to open
OpenDocument	.odt	Download to open
Rich Text	.rtf	Download to open

Personal Message

What's Included

The personal message is text you wrote when the host added you as survivor. It's displayed at the top of the access portal.

Example

"Dear Jane,

If you're reading this, I'm gone. I want to thank you for being part of my life. These documents contain everything you need to settle my affairs.

Take care of each other. I love you all."