Worried about what will happen to your data after you die? Apple’s Digital Legacy is a feature that allows you to share your data with a trusted contact when you pass. Here’s how to set it up.
To use Digital Legacy, you’ll need to appoint a Legacy Contact. This person will be able to recover your photos, messages, notes, files, apps, device backups and more with an access key in the event of your death, so you’ll want to make sure it’s a close friend, family member or partner that you trust.
They won’t, however, be able to see the payment information or passwords stored in your keychain or some of the films, music, books or subscriptions you purchased with your Apple ID.
Read on to learn how to assign a friend or family member as your Legacy Contact in just a few steps.
What you’ll need:
- An iPhone
- Someone you trust to be your Legacy Contact
The Short Version
- Go to your iPhone settings
- Tap your name
- Tap Password & Security
- Tap Legacy Contact
- Tap Add Legacy Contact
How to set up the iOS Digital Legacy feature
Step
1Open your iPhone settings
You’ll need your phone to be updated to iOS 15.2 or above to access the feature.
Step
2Tap your name
This will take you to your account settings.
Step
3Tap Password & Security
This will take you to your security settings where you’ll find the Digital Legacy feature.
Step
4Tap Legacy Contact
You might need to scroll to find this option.
Step
5Choose Add Legacy Contact
Then, just follow the steps onscreen to select a Legacy Contact to receive your Digital Legacy access key.
Troubleshooting
Yes, you can also add a Legacy Contact on any iPad running iPadOS 15.2 or above or any Mac running macOS 12.1 or above.
You can easily remove a Legacy Contact by going back into your Legacy Contact settings and tapping to remove them. They won’t be directly notified if you remove them, but you will be removed from their Legacy Contact List and their access key will no longer work.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
