At a Glance
Legacy contacts
You can designate up to five Legacy Contacts who gain access to your iCloud account after your death.
SupportedAccess key security
Legacy Contacts must present a pre-shared access key along with the account holder's death certificate to gain access.
SupportedAccount deletion option
After the access period ends, the Legacy Contact's account and its data are permanently deleted.
SupportedNo memorialization
Apple does not offer memorialized profiles or any way to preserve a public tribute page.
Not supportedOverview
Apple's digital legacy planning is built around the Legacy Contact feature, which lets users designate one or more trusted people to access a defined set of iCloud data after their death. Access is granted only after the Legacy Contact provides both a pre-shared access key and the user's death certificate. Access to the Legacy Contact account is available for up to three years from the date Apple approves the first request. After that period, the account and its data are permanently deleted. This system excludes purchased media, subscriptions and Keychain items (usernames, passwords, credit card information, etc.), and it does not create a memorialized profile.
Legacy Contacts
You can designate up to five Legacy Contacts who gain access to your iCloud account after your death. They can access photos, messages, notes and files. Any Legacy Contact can make decisions about the account data, which includes permanently deleting it.
Access Key and Death Certificate Requirement
To request access, a Legacy Contact must present the unique access key that was generated when they were added, along with the account holder's death certificate. Apple will not approve the request without both.
No Memorialization
Apple does not offer memorialized profiles. When a Legacy Contact's request is approved, the original Apple Account is deactivated and Activation Lock is removed from associated devices.
User Reviews
Alex R.
April 2025
Helpful to understand what options are available before anything happens. Wish more platforms offered legacy contacts.
Jamie L.
March 2025
The policy exists but navigating the setup is not straightforward. Could be made much more accessible.
Morgan T.
February 2025
One of the better implementations compared to other platforms. Setting up took only a few minutes.