What is Apple Digital Legacy and how do Legacy Contacts work?

(Pocket-lint) - You astir apt store a batch of accusation connected your Apple devices and successful iCloud. You mightiness adjacent privation friends oregon loved ones to beryllium capable to entree your information and beloved memories aft you're gone.

If that's the case, you tin conscionable acceptable up Digital Legacy. Here's how.

What is Apple Digital Legacy?

Apple's Digital Legacy is simply a programme that lets you walk down your accusation to household and friends if you walk away. You tin adhd up to 5 "Legacy Contacts" to your account.

So, erstwhile you're gone, those contacts tin simply petition entree with an entree key, and past the accusation stored successful your iCloud volition beryllium handed over.

When volition Apple Digital Legacy beryllium available?

The quality to adhd Legacy Contacts is presently unrecorded successful the developer beta of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey for testing.

It is not yet known precisely erstwhile the bundle update containing the nationalist mentation of the Digital Legacy diagnostic volition beryllium unrecorded but it should beryllium soon. We volition support you posted.

How Digital Legacy and Legacy Contacts work

Digital Legacy is not yet disposable for consumers, but we cognize the process for enrolling successful the programme and adding a Legacy Contact acknowledgment to the developer beta. 

Add a Legacy Contact to your account

You tin adhd a Legacy Contact from your iPhone and from your Mac.

For iOS devices: Open Settings app > [Your Name] > Password and Security. For Mac: Open System Preferences > Apple ID > Password & Security.

From there, nether Legacy Contact, you'll spot the options and you'll beryllium capable to travel the instructions to adhd a Legacy Contact.

If you usage Family Sharing, you tin take a household subordinate from the list, but you tin adhd idiosyncratic other utilizing their email oregon telephone fig too. As mentioned, you tin adhd up to 5 Legacy Contacts you spot to person entree to the information successful your relationship aft your death.

Request entree to a loved one's data

If you're someone's Legacy Contact, you volition beryllium capable to petition entree to their information via Digital Legacy but you volition request to person a transcript of their entree key.

When mounting up a Legacy Contact, your loved 1 volition request to notify contacts chosen and stock the entree key. This tin beryllium done via Messages, aft which a transcript of the entree cardinal volition automatically beryllium stored successful the contact's Apple ID, if they judge the invitation. If an invitation to beryllium a Legacy Contact is declined, the idiosyncratic mounting up the interaction volition beryllium notified and they tin take idiosyncratic else.

It's besides imaginable to people the entree key, nonstop a PDF of the Legacy Contact settings leafage oregon prevention a transcript with your property readying documents.

You volition request to supply a transcript of a decease certificate to really petition access, however.

How to find and presumption your loved one's data

Once your petition is approved, the activation fastener connected your loved one's Apple instrumentality volition beryllium removed, and past you volition beryllium capable to entree their idiosyncratic information connected icloud.com oregon download a transcript from privacy.apple.com.

On an iOS instrumentality oregon iPadOS device, you tin adjacent reconstruct their information from an iCloud Backup. You tin entree their iCloud information connected a Mac, too.

What benignant of information volition beryllium accessible?

You volition beryllium capable to entree your loved one's iCloud information and Apple ID relationship data. This includes things similar Photos, Notes, and Mail.

You volition not beryllium capable to entree oregon presumption their outgo information, subscriptions, licensed media, oregon information stored successful Keychain. Again, each this information volition beryllium accessible either from the web oregon from Apple devices, truthful you person options.

Will your loved one's information beryllium disposable forever?

No, erstwhile you petition access, Apple volition springiness you an expiration date. After that date, their relationship and information volition beryllium deleted.

Writing by Maggie Tillman. Editing by Britta O'Boyle. Originally published connected 10 June 2021.