What is an Apple legacy contact?

Apple's Digital Legacy programme lets you designate people as legacy contacts for your Apple ID. After your death, they can request access to your iCloud data - including photos, messages, notes, files, and more.

This was introduced in iOS 15.2 and macOS 12.1 (December 2021).

What your legacy contact can access

Once approved, a legacy contact gets access to:

• iCloud Photos and shared albums
• iMessage and SMS history
• Notes, Reminders, and Calendars
• iCloud Drive files
• Contacts
• Health data
• Voice Memos, Safari bookmarks, and iCloud Mail

They cannot access your Keychain passwords, licensed media (music, films, books), payment information, or subscriptions.

How to set it up

On iPhone or iPad (iOS 15.2+)

1. Open Settings
2. Tap your name at the top (Apple ID)
3. Tap Sign-In & Security
4. Tap Legacy Contact
5. Tap Add Legacy Contact and follow the prompts
6. Choose how to share your access key - via Messages, a printed QR code, or a saved PDF

On Mac (macOS 12.1+)

1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS)
2. Click your name / Apple ID
3. Click Sign-In & Security
4. Click Legacy Contact
5. Click the + button to add a contact

Share the access key

Your legacy contact receives an access key - a short code they'll need alongside a death certificate to request access. You can share it via:

• Messages - Apple sends it directly
• Printed copy - a QR code you can print and store with important documents
• Save to their device - if they also have an Apple device, the key is stored in their Settings automatically

What happens when the time comes

Your legacy contact visits digital-legacy.apple.com and provides:

1. Their access key
2. A death certificate (uploaded as a scan or photo)

Apple reviews the request (typically within a few days) and creates a temporary Legacy Contact Account that's active for 3 years. During that time, they can sign in and download your data.

Your original Apple ID is permanently deleted after the legacy period ends.

Tips

• Add more than one - you can have up to 5 legacy contacts
• Share the access key now - don't wait; they need both the key and a death certificate to gain access
• Store the key in LifeBeacon - save a note against your Apple account in your digital vault with details of who your legacy contacts are and where the access key is stored
• Review regularly - if you change devices, make sure the legacy contact setting carried over

Limitations

• Only works with personal Apple IDs, not Managed Apple IDs
• Legacy contacts must be over 13 years old
• The legacy account expires after 3 years
• Keychain passwords (saved website logins) are never shared