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

iOS 15 Lets Your Family Access Your Data If You Die

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2021-06-09 14:00:10

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.

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.