Life can take unexpected turns, so it's essential to have your family’s important documents organized, secure, and easy to access at any moment. A family digital vault makes that possible.
Market leader Trustworthy and the newly-launched AARP Digital Vault are two of the options available. In this article, we’ll explain why Trustworthy is the better choice — offering stronger security, smarter features, reliable automation, and standout support.
What Is Trustworthy?
Trustworthy’s Family Operating System® is designed to help you organize, protect, and share your important family and business documents.
Trustworthy, founded in 2020, streamlines information organization with automated document uploads, automated reminders, and expert customer service. And we’ll get into its next-level security in a moment.
What Is AARP Digital Vault?
AARP Digital Vault, powered by Prisidio, also intends to help people organize their documents through a secure digital system. This vault, however, includes only some of the safety features and functionality that Trustworthy provides.
To help you understand the differentiators, let’s run through how each service performs across the most important areas.
Trustworthy vs. AARP Digital Vault at a Glance
Trustworthy’s Unmatched Security Offers Peace of Mind
Trustworthy’s advanced security features are unmatched, giving you peace of mind that your sensitive information is safe.
While both platforms use AES 256-bit encryption and multi-factor authentication with biometrics and are SOC 2 certified and HIPAA compliant, the similarity ends there. Trustworthy is SOC 2 Type II certified, meeting higher standards of the American Institute of CPAs.
Trustworthy’s world-class security measures include:
Tokenization, which removes your sensitive data from the Trustworthy database and replaces it with a corresponding token to keep your information secure. That means your information is always protected and separate from your account.
On-screen redaction, physical security keys, and continuous threat detection.
SecureLinks™, with granular permissions to decide who has access to which documents and for how long.
Trustworthy also bests AARP Digital Vault in data privacy standards. Trustworthy is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). It's SOC 3 certified as well; AARP Digital Vault is not.
Trustworthy's numerous five-star ratings and 4.8 score (excellent) on customer review site Trustpilot are a testament to its strong security and performance. AARP Digital Vault doesn’t have reviews on Trustpilot, but AARP’s overall rating is only 1.4 (bad). Prisidio has a 4.5 score but from only a dozen or so reviews.
AARP Digital Vault Offers Basic Service at a Basic Price
AARP Digital Vault offers only two plans, and you can’t get either of them without joining AARP first:
A basic plan for $20 a year.
An “Unlimited” plan for $95 a year.
Those are the prices after you’ve paid to join AARP, which is $15-$20 for a first-year subscription.
Trustworthy offers more variety in plans:
A basic plan for free.
Silver: $10 a month (billed annually)
Gold: $20 a month (billed annually)
10% discount available
A 50% hero discount for firefighters, police, paramedics, doctors, nurses, military members, Coast Guard personnel, reservists, veterans, teachers, and security guards.
Access to Trustworthy Certified Experts™ on an hourly fee basis.
Trustworthy's Paid Plans Don't Cap Your Storage
One obvious area where Trustworthy outshines AARP Digital Vault is storage capacity: Trustworthy’s paid plans allow members unlimited item storage. AARP Digital Vault storage is capped at 100 GB.
If you want to ensure you can upload all the important documents in your life without running into a wall, Trustworthy is the clear winner.
Trustworthy's Automation Streamlines Your Organization
Life is time-consuming and complicated. Your digital vault shouldn’t be. That’s why Trustworthy wins on automation.
The real MVP is Trustworthy’s Autopilot tool, which takes the hassle out of family organization. Autopilot instantly analyzes the documents you upload and extracts their key details, making it simple to find information later in your Family Operating System®. Autopilot also recommends category filing locations and file names.
You also benefit from other automations, like Trustworthy’s mobile document scanner, available from its Android and iOS apps.
AARP Digital Vault offers a few automated features, too. Like Trustworthy, AARP Digital Vault supports automated reminders so you never forget to file your taxes or renew insurance policies, or miss a doctor’s appointment. Also like Trustworthy, it provides regular, automated backups to ensure all your information is up to date.
Still, Trustworthy is the clear winner here.
Trustworthy Provides More Support
If this is your first sortie into the world of digital vaults and family organization, you might be a little bit wary, especially if you’re wanting some help with big jobs like estate planning.
That’s why amazing customer support should be at the top of your wish list when you’re shopping for the best digital vault. So, let’s see how Trustworthy and AARP Digital Vault stack up in this department.
For starters, Trustworthy's website is more detailed about its product features, including its security. In comparison, confirming whether AARP Digital Vault had mobile apps required a 17-minute phone call with two transfers.
Prisidio’s tech support is available to purchasers of AARP Digital Vault, via email, phone, or chat. With Trustworthy's Silver and Gold plans, you can get email and chat support. And if you’re looking for next-level support, you can get access to a Trustworthy Certified Expert™.
Trustworthy Certified Experts™ are professionals who offer personalized, one-on-one help. They assist Trustworthy members with such tasks as onboarding documents, creating digital organization strategies, and connecting with the right legal or planning professionals.
Best of all, you can set up appointments with your expert when it’s convenient for you. Some of the experts are available at weekends and evenings, too, so you aren’t left stuck waiting around until Monday morning for advice.
Other Trustworthy Features
Forward emails to your inbox for fast and easy organization:
Just forward your family’s important documents to your personalized Trustworthy email address, and they’ll be automatically added to your Trustworthy Inbox, with suggested names and recommended filing locations.
Chrome extension:
With drag-and-drop functionality, you can easily add files, email attachments, or save screenshots directly to your Trustworthy Inbox.
Trustworthy iOS and Android mobile app:
Access and share documents on the go.
Scan and upload documents from your phone.
Collaboration:
The feature lets you define a trusted network of family members and advisors. You have complete control over who can view and edit specific documents or categories, granting full or partial access and safeguarding your family’s sensitive information.
Legacy access:
Allows trusted individuals to access your account when you pass away.
Tool integration:
Plaid data-transfer software.
ScanSnap scanners.
Search feature:
Quickly locate critical files, folders, and more, whether you’re on your computer or your phone, with just a few keystrokes.
We’d love to hear from you! Feel free to email us with any questions, comments, or suggestions for future article topics.
Trustworthy is an online service providing legal forms and information. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice.
