Team Management

Teams are the foundation of Key Man Out's collaborative security model. A team is a group of users who share access to a common set of encrypted assets.

The team dashboard in sealed state - vault must be unsealed to access assets

Understanding Teams

What is a Team?

A team represents a group of people (family members, business partners, employees, etc.) who need to securely share access to critical information. Each team has:

• A unique key phrase for encryption
• A set of team members with different roles
• A collection of assets (encrypted information)
• Billing settings for subscription management

Team Roles

Key Man Out supports three team-wide roles:

Note: Asset-level roles (Custodian, Gatekeeper, Successor) are separate from team roles and are covered in the Assets documentation.

Creating a Team

Team Creation Form

1. From your dashboard, click "Create New Team"
2. Complete the team information:

Team Logo

• Optional but recommended for visual identification
• Upload an image (1:1 aspect ratio recommended)
• Maximum file size: 1 MB
• Supported formats: PNG, JPG, SVG

Team Name

• Required
• Should clearly identify the team (e.g., "Smith Family", "Acme Corporation")
• Can be changed later

Team URL

• Required and unique
• Creates a custom URL: https://yoursite.com/dashboard/your-team-url
• Must use lowercase letters, numbers, and single hyphens
• Cannot be changed after creation
• Example: smith-family, acme-corp-2024

Tip: If your desired URL is taken, the system will automatically suggest alternatives (e.g., team-name-1, team-name-2).

Key Phrase

• Required and CRITICAL
• Minimum 12 characters (longer strongly recommended)
• Used for end-to-end encryption of all team assets
• Cannot be changed or recovered - store it securely!
• Must be shared with all team members who need access

Key Phrase Reminder

• Optional
• A hint to help remember the key phrase
• Be careful not to make it too revealing
• Shown when unsealing the vault

After Creation

Once created, you:

• Become the team Owner
• Can start inviting other members
• Can create assets (after unsealing the vault)
• Can configure billing and settings

After entering your key phrase, the vault is unsealed and assets become accessible

Inviting Team Members

Sending Invitations

1. Navigate to Team Settings > Members
2. Click "Invite Member"
3. Enter the member's email address
4. Select their role (Admin or Member)
5. Click "Send Invitation"

Invitation Process

• An email invitation is sent to the recipient
• The invitation link is valid for 7 days
• If the recipient doesn't have an account, they'll be prompted to create one
• Once accepted, they'll be added to the team with the specified role

Managing Pending Invitations

From the Team Members page, you can:

• View pending invitations: See all sent invitations that haven't been accepted
• Resend invitation: Send another email if the original was missed
• Cancel invitation: Revoke the invitation before it's accepted

Important: New team members must receive the team key phrase separately (via secure channel) to unseal the vault and access assets.

Team Member Management

Viewing Team Members

The Team Settings > Members page shows:

• All current team members
• Their roles (Owner, Admin, Member)
• Their email addresses
• When they joined the team
• Pending invitations

Changing Member Roles

Team Owners and Admins can change member roles:

1. Navigate to Team Settings > Members
2. Find the member you want to modify
3. Click the role dropdown next to their name
4. Select the new role (Member or Admin)

Note: Team ownership cannot be transferred through the UI. Contact support if you need to transfer ownership.

Removing Team Members

Team Owners and Admins can remove members:

1. Navigate to Team Settings > Members
2. Find the member you want to remove
3. Click the trash icon or "Remove" button
4. Confirm the removal

Important considerations when removing members:

• They immediately lose access to all team assets
• They can no longer unseal the vault (even if they know the key phrase)
• If they were assigned as Custodian, Gatekeeper, or Successor on assets, those assignments remain until explicitly changed

Team Settings

General Settings

Access team settings from Team Settings > General:

Editable Fields

• Team Name: Update your team's display name
• Team Logo: Upload a new logo or change the existing one
• Key Phrase Reminder: Update the hint for your key phrase

Security Note: To update the Key Phrase Reminder, you must have the vault unsealed (proving you know the key phrase).

Read-Only Fields

• Team URL: Cannot be changed after creation
• Created Date: When the team was created
• Owner: Current team owner

Billing Settings

Team Owners only can manage billing:

1. Navigate to Team Settings > Billing
2. View current subscription status
3. Update payment method
4. Change subscription plan
5. View billing history

Team Deletion

Team Owners only can delete teams with a safety mechanism:

Deletion Process

1. Navigate to Team Settings > General
2. Scroll to the Danger Zone
3. Click "Delete Team"
4. Important: Your vault must be unsealed to delete (security verification)
5. Confirm deletion by entering the team name

What Happens When You Delete

• The team is scheduled for deletion in 72 hours (3 days)
• During this grace period:
  • The team is marked as "pending deletion"
  • You can cancel the deletion at any time
  • All data remains accessible
• After 72 hours:
  • The team and all its assets are permanently deleted
  • All team members lose access
  • All encrypted data is destroyed
  • This action cannot be undone

Canceling Scheduled Deletion

If you change your mind:

1. Navigate to your team (marked with a deletion warning)
2. Click "Cancel Deletion"
3. Your vault must be unsealed to cancel
4. The team returns to normal active status

Warning: Team deletion is permanent and irreversible after the 72-hour grace period. All encrypted assets will be lost forever.

Best Practices

Key Phrase Distribution

When adding new team members:

1. Never send the key phrase via email or unencrypted messaging
2. Use secure channels:
   • In-person communication
   • Encrypted messaging (Signal, WhatsApp end-to-end encrypted)
   • Password manager shared vaults
   • Secure video call
3. Verify the recipient's identity before sharing
4. Remind them to store it securely and never write it down in plain text

Team Size

• Small teams (2-5 people): Family vaults, small business partners
• Medium teams (6-15 people): Departments, project teams
• Large teams (16+ people): Entire companies, organizations

Consider creating multiple teams if:

• Different groups need access to different information
• You want to enforce stronger separation of duties
• Different billing or subscription requirements exist

Regular Audits

Team Owners and Admins should regularly:

• Review the member list and remove inactive members
• Verify all pending invitations are legitimate
• Check asset access logs for unusual activity
• Update contact information for team members
• Ensure backups of the key phrase exist in secure locations

Role Assignment Strategy

• Owner: The person with ultimate responsibility and liability
• Admin: Trusted managers who handle day-to-day member management
• Member: Everyone else who needs access to assets

Tip: Have at least one Admin in addition to the Owner to ensure continuity if the Owner is unavailable.

Common Questions

Can I belong to multiple teams?

Yes! You can:

• Create multiple teams (as Owner)
• Be invited to teams created by others
• Have different roles in different teams
• Switch between teams using the team dropdown in the sidebar

Each team has completely separate:

• Key phrases
• Assets
• Members
• Billing

What happens if the team Owner leaves?

The Owner role is critical. Before an Owner leaves:

1. Transfer ownership to another trusted team member (contact support)
2. Ensure the new Owner has the key phrase and billing access
3. Update team settings and billing information as needed

Can I have multiple Owners?

No, each team has exactly one Owner. However, you can have multiple Admins who can handle most team management tasks.

How do I share the key phrase securely?

Best practices for sharing:

• Use an encrypted password manager with sharing features
• Meet in person and communicate verbally
• Use end-to-end encrypted messaging apps
• Never send via email, SMS, or unencrypted chat
• Verify recipient identity before sharing

What if someone steals the key phrase?

If you believe the key phrase has been compromised:

1. Immediately create a new team with a new key phrase
2. Do NOT invite the compromised party to the new team
3. Migrate all assets to the new team (copy information, re-upload files)
4. Delete the old team after migration is complete
5. Notify all legitimate team members of the new key phrase via secure channel

Unfortunately, you cannot change a team's key phrase directly because all existing assets are encrypted with it.

Can team members see each other?

Yes, all team members can see:

• The list of all team members
• Their names and email addresses
• Their team roles

This transparency helps with accountability and coordination.