Court Orders & Subpoenas
Understand what happens when SovSeal receives legal process and what we can provide.
Court Orders & Subpoenas
When legal process arrives at SovSeal, what happens? Our zero-knowledge architecture has direct implications for what we can — and cannot — provide in response to court orders and subpoenas.
The key point: We cannot decrypt your data even if ordered to do so. We don't hold the keys.
Our Position on Legal Process
What We Comply With
SovSeal will comply with valid legal process:
- Court orders from courts with jurisdiction
- Grand jury subpoenas
- Valid administrative subpoenas
- Law enforcement requests with proper authorization
What We Provide
In response to valid legal process, we can provide:
| Information Type | Available? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Account metadata | ✓ | Email, registration date, plan type |
| Payment records | ✓ | Transaction dates, amounts |
| Access logs | ✓ | Login times, IP addresses |
| Encrypted file blobs | ✓ | But unreadable without keys |
| Decrypted file contents | ✗ | Technically impossible |
| Encryption keys | ✗ | We don't possess them |
What We Cannot Provide
Due to our zero-knowledge architecture:
- Decrypted file contents — We cannot decrypt your data
- Encryption keys — We never possess or store them
- File previews or descriptions — Files are encrypted blobs to us
- Any information about vault contents — Metadata is also encrypted
This is not a policy we can change — it's a technical reality. Our architecture was deliberately designed so that we cannot access your data.
Practical Implications
For Valid Investigations
If law enforcement has legitimate need for your vault contents, they must:
- Obtain the order from a court with jurisdiction
- Serve it on SovSeal (we provide account metadata)
- Separately obtain access to your encryption keys — from you, your estate, or your devices
We cannot shortcut this process because we don't have the capability.
For Estate Proceedings
In probate and estate proceedings:
- Your designated trusted contacts can claim access through normal verification
- Courts can order us to initiate release procedures
- But actual decryption still requires keys held by authorized individuals
For Disputes
When parties dispute vault access:
- We follow the release conditions you've configured
- Courts can order us to verify identity claims
- But we cannot override your encryption architecture
Transparency Report
Our Commitment
We believe in transparency about legal requests:
- We publish aggregate statistics on requests received
- We notify users of legal process when legally permitted
- We challenge overbroad or invalid requests
Request Handling
When we receive legal process:
- Verify validity — Review for proper jurisdiction and authorization
- Assess scope — Ensure request is appropriately limited
- Comply precisely — Provide only what's validly requested (and possible)
- Notify when permitted — Inform users unless prohibited
Protection by Design
Why This Architecture?
We chose zero-knowledge architecture specifically because:
- Your privacy shouldn't depend on our policies
- Legal situations can be complex and unpredictable
- Today's reasonable request might be tomorrow's overreach
- Trust should be based on capability, not promises
What This Means for You
- Your data is protected by mathematics, not our judgment calls
- Forced decryption is impossible — there's nothing to force
- Subpoenas yield limited information — metadata only
- Your encryption keys are the access control — whoever holds them has access
Legal Process for Heirs
When Keys Are Lost
If encryption keys are truly lost and no one holds them:
- Court orders cannot help — we cannot decrypt
- The data remains encrypted indefinitely
- This is why recovery documentation matters
Estate Transfer
For legitimate estate transfer:
- Normal trusted contact verification is sufficient
- Court orders can confirm authority if disputed
- But encrypted release still requires authorized individuals
Plan your estate carefully. Ensure your trusted contacts have or can obtain the credentials needed to decrypt your vault. Court orders alone are insufficient.