SafePass — case tracker and advocacy hub for families of Americans detained abroad
A private, secure web app where families of wrongfully detained Americans abroad coordinate with attorneys, journalists, and State Department contacts, with a case timeline, document locker, and advocacy toolkit.
Spouses, parents, and adult children of Americans wrongfully held overseas
- Private case timeline with consular updates and court filings
- Document locker for legal papers, photos, and letters
- Attorney and NGO matching by country and case type
- Press kit generator for media outreach
The $314M Maduro verdict spotlights the scale of wrongful-detention cases, and there is no consumer-grade tool built around the family's experience.
Foley Foundation reports 54 Americans wrongfully detained in 2024 alone across 17 countries, with 2015-2025 total of 142 cases (up 163% from prior decade) — but each case only affects a handful of family members, keeping total addressable users in the low hundreds annually.Hostage Reports - Foley Foundation ↗Where Wrongful Detention is on the Rise - ASIS Online ↗
No consumer-grade case-tracking app exists; the field is served by static resource guides (State Department 2022 PDF, RFK Human Rights 2025 guide) and nonprofit services (Hostage US, Foley Foundation) that provide human support rather than software tooling.Resources for Families of Wrongful Detainees - U.S. State Department ↗Guide on Engaging the United States Government on Arbitrary or Wrongful Detention Cases - RFK Human Rights ↗
Families in crisis are served by free 501(c)(3) support (Hostage US EIN 46-2940273, Foley Foundation) and pro-bono legal advocacy; charging them for software is difficult, and the small, episodic caseload (~50-150/year) limits B2B sales to a handful of specialty law firms.Hostage US | Support for Hostages and Their Families ↗Families of Americans Overseas Wrongfully Detained Bring Advocacy to Capitol Hill ↗
Wrongful-detention cases are rising with geopolitical tensions (Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela) and showed a 163% increase 2015-2025, but each family's need is episodic and time-limited, leaving unclear whether a subscription product retains paying users.Hostage Reports - Foley Foundation ↗
Core features (timeline, document locker, secure messaging) are buildable, but handling highly sensitive legal/government communications requires serious security posture (encryption, SOC-2/equivalent, possible FedRAMP alignment) and trust-building with established advocacy organizations.Summary of Assistance Resources - U.S. Department of State ↗