Set it up once.
Connect the places your documents already land. From then on they arrive filed and understood, every date with what to do.
Everything in Family for your first 14 days, then free forever for your first 100 documents. No card to enter.
The default
Thaw vs A folder on your computer
Everyone, at some point. A Documents folder, maybe a scanner that dumps into it, maybe a naming convention that lasted a month.
A folder is free, private and yours, and it does nothing on its own, so the filing stops when you stop. What it costs is missed renewals and lost afternoons.
Side by side
| Thaw | A folder | |
|---|---|---|
| Effort | None after setup. Paper arrives and is filed. | Every file needs a name and a place, or it does not get one. |
| Finding things | By person, thing, category, type, date, exact identifier, or a question. | Spotlight or Windows Search over file names and OCR, if the scans have text. |
| Dates and checkup | Every renewal, expiry, due date and notice period becomes an item with what happens if missed and what to do, from the document itself. Resolved by the next document. Knows what a person, vehicle, property, pet or business should have on file; lists what is missing, lapsed, expired or duplicated, worst first, with where to get it. | None. |
| Ownership and privacy | A key per document, locked by a key per account, locked by a master key in a separate key service. Identifying numbers sealed, and blanked from the search index. A log that only grows. Deleting destroys the key. Originals in a folder tree named the way Thaw names them, plus every fact as CSV and JSON, and a continuous mirror to your own Dropbox or Drive folder. | Absolute, as long as the disk lasts and the backups work. |
| Cost | Free tier, then from $8 a month. | Free. |
Stay with A folder if
- You have a dozen documents and a good memory.
- Nothing in your life renews, expires or comes due.
Move to Thaw if
- You have a household, a car, a lease or a business.
- You have ever paid a late fee you did not need to.
Moving over
Drag the folder onto the import page. Folder names and file names become hints. Keep the folder if you like; Thaw does not need it to go away.
Emaila rule you set once3 this week
Google Drivethe Family folder, watched2 this week
Scannersends straight to Thaw1 this week
Phonethe camera, for what only exists on paper
This week: 6 arrived, 6 filed, none touched by hand.