Our lives now exist across thousands of digital moments: photos shared with family, messages exchanged with friends, documents stored in the cloud, and accounts that record our work, interests, and memories. Together, these form our digital legacy, the collection of digital assets and digital presence that represent who we are online.
Apple devices and services often store large volumes of personal data — photos, messages, notes, files, device backups and more. Planning ahead lets you decide how that information will be handled if you pass away or become incapacitated.
You can use Apple’s built-in tool to nominate someone you trust (a “Legacy Contact”), or your family can request access or deletion of your Apple Account after death.
Starting in iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2 and macOS 12.1, you can appoint a Legacy Contact for your Apple Account.
Here’s how it works:
📝 Note: Make sure you create and store the Access Key somewhere safe (print, screenshot or PDF) and ensure your chosen contact knows about it and their responsibilities.
If a loved one passes away and you need to access or close their Apple account:
⚠️Warning: If a device is locked with a passcode and you don’t know the passcode, Apple cannot unlock the device without erasing it.
⚠️Warning: If you request account deletion of the deceased account, you may lose all data permanently and it may not be recoverable later.
Start planning your digital legacy with our free legacy planner.
When you’re preparing your digital legacy, include the following for Apple in your plan: