What is Apple’s Digital Legacy program?
Apple’s Digital Legacy program is a way for someone that you choose to access your digital information stored in your Apple account after you die.
So much of our important data is stored in digital form — like photos, messages, contacts, email, notes, and more. For Apple users, that info is locked away behind an Apple ID password. If the account owner, rightly, hasn’t shared the password, then loved ones will be unable to access any of that information once they are no longer around.
Instead of being left in the lurch, Digital Legacy allows users to name select friends or family members as Legacy Contacts who can request a copy of their data in the event of their death.
How to add a Legacy Contact on iOS
Here’s how to do it on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 15.2 or later.
- Open Settings.
- Tap your name.
- Tap Password & Security.
- Tap Legacy Contact.
- Tap Add Legacy Contact. A dialog box will explain the Digital Legacy feature.
- Tap Add Legacy Contact once more to proceed and you’ll be prompted to use Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode to continue.
- If you use Family Sharing, you’ll be presented with a list of family members from which to pick. Tap their name and hit Next. Alternatively, tap Choose Someone Else to add someone from your Contacts.
- Tap Continue.
- Once you’ve selected the person, you may need to choose their primary email as the mode of contact.
One Final Step
By default, a Legacy Contact assignment only lasts for three years, and then it goes away. We recommend also making a Calendar appointment for yourself for 3 years from the date you set this up (with a name like “Reassign Legacy Contact iOS” or similar).
Best to Be Prepared
Life is unpredictable. That’s why it’s a good idea to set up some Legacy Contacts so that your important information can be accessed by the friends and family members you choose.
Apple’s Digital Legacy feature is the best iPhone implementation we’ve seen for this sort of information sharing and, once set up, you can go on with one less thing to worry about. It doesn’t solve all of the problems of estate planning, but it’s a good place to start.
But Wait: Can’t You Do It For Me?
Why yes – that’s what we’re here for. Contact Us and we will set it up for you!
(Excerpted from a longer article from iMore.com.)
