Terms of service

Isti’dad (Arabic for “preparation”) is a free digital vault where you can record your final wishes, outstanding debts, spiritual instructions, and other important information for your loved ones to access after you pass away.

Isti’dad is not a will, testament, or legally binding document. It does not create, replace, or override:

• A legally valid will recognised by the courts in your country, or
• The fixed inheritance shares (Fara’id) prescribed under Shariah, which apply automatically to a Muslim’s estate regardless of what is written elsewhere.

Isti’dad does, however, let you record an optional bequest (Wasiyyah) of up to one-third (1/3) of your estate to recipients of your choosing outside your fixed heirs, consistent with the practice of the Prophet ﷺ. This record is for clarity and guidance to your family; it does not itself execute or enforce distribution, and we recommend also preparing a formal Wasiyyah with a qualified scholar or lawyer so it can be properly executed.

We strongly encourage every user to also prepare a formal legal will. Isti’dad is a companion tool for clarity and peace of mind, not a substitute for one.

You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction) to create an account. By using Isti’dad, you confirm the information you provide is accurate and that you have the legal right to share any information you upload.

You are responsible for:

• Keeping your account credentials secure.
• Keeping the information in your vault accurate and up to date.
• Ensuring anything you store (debts, wishes, instructions, documents, media) is information you have the right to disclose.
• Recording instructions for your trustees on how to access things like social media or other important accounts without storing the passwords themselves in the vault — point your trustees to where and how they can retrieve access, rather than storing credentials directly.

You designate a set of trustees when you set up your account. When you pass away, Isti’dad uses a multi-step confirmation process involving your designated trustees and supporting evidence before any information is released, specifically to guard against a single person falsely or prematurely triggering a release. We also monitor for signs that a user may no longer be active and reach out proactively as part of this process.

You can update your trustees at any time while your account is active.

If you would like to understand how this protects you in more detail, contact us at whatnextlegacyapp@gmail.com.

Once your vault has been released to your trustees, each trustee closes their access when they are done with it. The vault is deleted only when every trustee has closed it — a single trustee cannot delete a released vault on their own.

Even then it is not destroyed immediately: it remains recoverable for 30 days, so a closure made in grief or by mistake can be undone.

You can delete your account and everything in it at any time, from Settings in the app or from this website. Nothing is destroyed for 30 days, during which you can change your mind; after that we cannot recover it.

Deleting your account also stands you down as a trustee of anybody else’s vault, and those owners are told, so they can appoint somebody in your place.

Isti’dad is, and will remain, free to use. We consider it a form of Sadaqatul Jariyah (ongoing charity) for its owners and contributors, and we keep it running through volunteers, sponsorships, and donations rather than charging users. If you would like to support Isti’dad as a developer, creator, sponsor, or donor, we welcome it — write to whatnextlegacyapp@gmail.com.

You agree not to use Isti’dad to store unlawful content, impersonate another person, submit a fraudulent claim about your own or anyone else’s death, or attempt to interfere with or reverse-engineer the verification process.

Isti’dad is provided “as is.” We do everything reasonably possible to keep your information secure and to verify claims carefully, but we cannot guarantee that a trustee will act promptly, that evidence submitted is genuine, or that family disputes about your wishes will not occur.

Your vault opens only when enough of your trustees confirm your passing. You accept the consequence of that design: if your trustees cannot be reached, refuse to act, or predecease you, your vault may never be opened, and we cannot open it on their behalf. Appoint more than the minimum, and keep their details current.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Isti’dad is not liable for losses arising from delayed, mistaken, or fraudulent release of vault contents, from records that were inaccurate or out of date, or from your own failure to keep your information current.

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email and in the app. Continued use after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA).

Questions about these Terms, or about supporting Isti’dad as a volunteer, sponsor, or donor: whatnextlegacyapp@gmail.com