What is Apple Digital Legacy and How to Add a Legacy Contact on iPhone

Jun. 15, 2021

Long live our digital legacy! Have you ever wondered what will happen to the hundreds (or thousands) of memorable photos, sensitive files, and personal notes on your Apple device after you are gone? If that thought has crossed your mind and you are looking for a secure way to keep your legacy alive even after your death, Apple Digital Legacy in iOS 15 is here for you. Read on to learn what is Apple Digital Legacy and how to add a legacy contact on your iPhone.

Before going through the steps to enable the feature, let’s first understand what exactly is Apple Digital Legacy and how it works!

Apple Digital Legacy ensures your fond memories, including photos and videos, as well as important files remain intact even after you are gone. The program lets you securelypass down your information to trusted friends or family members. Apple is now allowing you to add “Legacy contacts” to your iCloud account so that your family members or friends can request access to your information upon your passing.

Apple Digital Legacy will be available on iOS 15, iPadOS 15, andmacOS Montereyto all users later this year. Depending on your needs, you can manage your legacy contacts, keep track of your Access key, and even revoke access to the key by removing a person from your trusted contacts list.

Once you have added your friend/ family member as your legacy contact, that person will have access to data stored in your account after your death. Here’s everything your digital legacy data will include:

Bear in mind that your trusted contact won’t be able to access your iCloud Keychain or any licensed media.

When adding a legacy contact to your account, Apple generates an Access Key which you need to share with them. After you are gone, your trusted contact will have toprovide a copy of your death certificate and the Access Keyto gain access to your data.

Adding a legacy contact to an iCloud account in iOS 15 is simple. You can get it done right from the Apple ID section, so follow the steps below:

2. Now, tap “Password & Security“.

3. Next, scroll down and choose “Legacy contact“, and then tap on the “Add Legacy Contact” button.

4. On theLegacy Contactscreen, tap on “Add Legacy Contact” to proceed. Then, enter your Apple ID credentials and sign in to your iCloud account.

5. Now, select a preferred contact and tap onContinue.

6. Finally, choose how you want toshare your Access Key with a trusted Legacy Contact. You have the option to print a copy of the access key. Tap on the “Printa Copy” option and then print the Access key if you want to share a hard copy of your Access key.

Also, you can choose to send the Access Key usingemail apps, Airdrop, WhatsApp, orother communication apps. There is also the option tosave the Access Key in the Files folder on your iPhone, as shown below.

Managing legacy contacts on iPhone and iPad is just as straightforward. So, you can check out the trusted contacts and keep a tab on the access key. And yes, if you ever decide to remove someone from your trusted contacts list, you can do it as well without breaking any sweat.

2. Now, select “Password & Security“.

3. Next, scroll down and choose “Legacy contact“.

4. You will see your legacy contacts listed here. Now, you must be wondering – how many legacy contacts can you add to your iCloud account in iOS 15? Well,there does not seem to be a limit on the number of legacy contacts. We were able to add up to 10 contacts during our testing, and could still add more contacts to the list.

5. Now, select alegacy contact.

6. Next, tap on “View Access Key“.

If you ever wish to prevent a contact from having access to your Access Key, you can do so with utmost ease. Just follow the steps below to remove a legacy contact from your Apple account.

2. Now, select the contact you don’t want to be able to access your personal data after your passing.

3. Finally, tap on the red “Remove” button. Now, a popup will appear from the bottom saying,“Are you sure you want to remove “X” as your Legacy Contact? X’s access key will be removed and they will not be able to access your account data after you have passed away.”Tap on Remove again to confirm.

Though there is less clarity about how a legacy contact can request a deceased family member’s account data, I guess the option would be available in the Apple ID settings on iPhone and iPad. So, if you are a trusted contact of your friend or family member, you can request their account data from there. Additionally, there will also be a way to request the account data from iCloud’s web app, as shown in the screenshot below.

Do note that you will need both the Access Key and the death certificate of the deceased to download a copy of the data. As iOS 15 is still a work in progress and will eventually launch to all iPhone users this fall, we will update this section with step-by-step instructions once the process to request legacy data is available. Therefore, stay tuned for more details!

Apple Digital Legacy Program to Never Let Your Legacy Die

So, that’s how the Apple Digital Legacy program works. In an era where our devices are home to a myriad of information, along with memorable photos and videos, it’s great to have the option to pass down the data to a trusted person on your passing. All the amazing memories and personal files you have kept on your Apple device over the years deserve a trusted shield to remain intact beyond your existence. What is your say on Apple Digital Legacy? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

An old school bibliophile who turned a tech nerd out of obsession. When he is not digging into hacks and tracking down stories that are breaking the internet, you may find him reciting poems.