iOS 15 Lets Your Family Access Your Data If You Die

With iOS 15, Apple is introducing a new Digital Legacy program that designates people as Legacy Contacts to let them access your Apple ID account and personal information in the event of your death.

appleidwebsignup
This feature does not appear to be live at the current time, but based on Apple's description, it will give your friends or family members access to your photos and other important data after your death. This is an important new addition to iOS because right now, if someone passes away with a locked iPhone, iPad, or Mac, it's difficult if not impossible to get access to the device, even with access to a death certificate.

Digital Legacy will let your loved ones manage your data to get access to key accounts and personal items like photos that would otherwise be lost.

Management of digital data after death is something that Apple has been lacking, and with so much data online, it's become an increasingly important topic. Social networks like Twitter and Facebook have tools for setting legacy contacts that can archive an account, and Google maintains an Inactive Account Manager that releases control of an account to a designated person after a set period of time.

Alongside the Digital Legacy program, Apple is also letting users set Account Recovery Contacts. People set as an Account Recovery Contact will be able to help you regain access to your ‌Apple ID‌ should you forget your password.

Both of these features will be available when iOS 15 launches this fall.

Related Forum: iOS 15

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Announces iOS 18.2 Launching Today With These New Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 5:23 am PST by
Apple has announced that iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will be released today following more than six weeks of beta testing. For the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, the update introduces additional Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji for creating custom emoji, Image Playground and Image Wand for generating images, and ChatGPT integration for Siri. There is also ...
iphone 17 pro concept render cameras

Major iPhone 17 Pro Redesign Backed by Supply Chain Info, Claims Leaker

Thursday December 12, 2024 4:36 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 17 Pro models will reportedly feature a major redesign, specifically centering around changes to the rear camera module, and now new supply chain information appears to confirm the striking change, according to a Chinese leaker. iPhone 17 Pro concept render Late last month, The Information's Wayne Ma claimed that the rear of the ‌iPhone 17‌ Pro and ‌iPhone 17‌ Pro...
m4 mac mini hands on

Cloud-Based M4 and M4 Pro Mac Mini Models Now Available

Wednesday December 11, 2024 7:34 am PST by
Developers now have access to cloud-based M4 and M4 Pro Mac mini units via MacWeb, a Silicon Valley-based provider of cloud services. The company has launched three configurations of the new Mac mini, powered by Apple's M4 and M4 Pro chips. Developers and IT teams can rent these machines for tasks ranging from basic development to advanced artificial intelligence modeling, providing an...
macOS Sequoia Night Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.2 With New Apple Intelligence Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:02 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.2, the second update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that was released in September. macOS Sequoia 15.2 comes over a month after the release of macOS Sequoia 15.1. Mac users can download the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Sequoia 15.2 adds Image Playground, an app that lets you create...
macbook air m2 13 inch

macOS Sequoia 15.2 Confirms New M4 MacBook Air Models Are Coming

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:54 am PST by
Apple today made a mistake with its macOS Sequoia 15.2 update, releasing the software for two Macs that have yet to be launched. There is a software file for "Mac16,12" and "Mac16,13," which are upcoming MacBook Air models. The leaked software references the "MacBook Air (13-inch, M4, 2025)" and the "MacBook Air (15-inch, M4, 2025)," confirming that new M4 MacBook Air models are in...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 With Genmoji, Image Playground, Siri ChatGPT and More

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:03 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2, the second major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 updates that came out in September. The new updates come over a month after Apple released iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General >...
apple tv purple

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Launching in 2025

Thursday December 12, 2024 10:39 am PST by
Apple plans to refresh both the Apple TV and the HomePod mini in 2025 as part of a major push into refreshing its smart home product offerings, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report on an upcoming Apple-designed Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chip, Gurman says that the chip will be introduced in a new Apple TV and HomePod mini that are "scheduled" for 2025. While there is no exact timeline...

Top Rated Comments

countryside Avatar
46 months ago
Can we have it automatically delete select things?
Score: 74 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Brookzy Avatar
46 months ago
*when.
Score: 66 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bsamcash Avatar
46 months ago
Another reason for my family to kill me.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
stemac75 Avatar
46 months ago
This will honestly be so useful. My wife passed away suddenly last year, aged 40. We shared a car - that she sorted everything for, she booked our family's holiday that I had to try to cancel, I had to find contacts of hers and let them know she had died, etc. I've been able to buy gifts for the children that she had chosen and saved in her Amazon account while she was in hospital. She also had some great photos of forgotten family days out, so we now have those positive memories again. We had a totally honest and open relationship so knew each others passwords for everything, so I've been able to access her phone and data - but if I didn't, it would have made sorting out some of those problems a lot more difficult at an already difficult time.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gsmornot Avatar
46 months ago

Can we have it automatically delete select things?
When you're gone I think it will be ok for your skeletons to be set free. Ha.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Complex757 Avatar
46 months ago
I think a self destruct feature where it automatically wipes your phone and history would be more useful
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)