Death can be an uncomfortable subject, but in the digital age, it’s important to know that your deceased’s data and information is not floating around in the wilderness of the internet. TO WWDC this year, Apple added some improvements to iCloud under iOS 15 – account recovery and digital inheritance. The feature is still in beta and has not been launched.

Digital inheritance allows you to select a contact and give them access to your iOS data in the event of death. iOS 15 usually won’t be available until fall, but you can download and try the public beta waiting for.

Apple didn’t give too many details about the service at WWDC, but a demo during the show, along with the latest beta, shed some more light on what a legacy contact can and can’t access. .

Once you have configured the Digital Legacy service, the contact you have chosen can view your data (photos, emails, notes, etc.) on icloud.com, download a copy of your data of privacy.apple.com or restore it from iCloud backup. The contact you choose will not have access to your payment information, such as stored credit cards, subscription credentials, licensed media, or keychain.

Once a former contact is granted access, according to images released during WWDC, they will have a limited time to access the data of a deceased loved one. Apple has yet to announce the deadline, but once the deadline has passed, Apple will delete the data.

How to set up Digital Legacy on your iPhone

1. Make sure your Apple device is running iOS 15.

2. Open your iPhone Settings.

3. Tap your name at the top of the screen.

4. To choose Password and security.

5. Faucet Legacy contact (the option should be right under Account Recovery).

6. Faucet Add a legacy contact (you will also be invited a second time).

7. Enter your Apple ID password to sign in.

8. Your contacts will open and you can choose who you want to be your old contact. Apple will open their information and you can tap on their phone number.

9. Faucet To continue.

From there, Apple will generate an access key for your account. Your old contact will need the access key to download your data in the event of death. Finally, you will receive a prompt about printing your access key. Apple suggests including a copy in your estate planning documents, as well as sharing it directly with your contact.

Please note that if you have been inactive for a year, Apple may give you 30 days notice and terminate your account, depending on the iCloud Terms of Service.

If you are the former contact of a deceased loved one, even if you do not have an access key, you can request access to their account and have the activation lock removed from their devices, depending on the Apple website. You will need proof of death documents to remove their Apple ID and remove the activation lock on their devices, according to Apple.

Apple announced its digital legacy service at WWDC 2021 in June as well as the upgraded iOS for devices.

For more Apple news, check out our Rumor about the Apple Watch 7 and all the latest AirPods 3 rumors.

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