Apple Plans To Introduce ‘Legacy Contacts’ To Keep Data Safe In Case Of Death
Image via GaudiLab / Shutterstock.com
Among the plethora of new features Apple introduced alongside the latest iOS 15 software update, a few of them haven’t yet been released.
One of these is ‘Legacy Contacts’, which is a new way to ensure that the digital data users store on their devices and in the cloud won’t totally be lost in the event of death. For example, precious family photos.
As explained by Apple, the Legacy Contacts feature comes as part of the ‘Digital Legacy’ program. This will allow users to choose specific people they want to share their personal information and account details with, in the case of their death.
This will come in the form of a security key, which remains locked for the entire time the user is alive. Apple will only activate this in the event of the user’s death, and only with proof. Usually, this would be a death certificate.
9to5Mac reports that the data won’t be every single thing that has passed through a user’s device, however. Some of it is protected by end-to-end encryption, such as Apple Card transactions, health data, keychain entries, and browser history.
Although not yet introduced in its entirety, there have been some signs spotted that it may be coming soon. As detailed by Macworld, there have been updates to the iCloud user agreement that includes a clause stating, “With Digital Legacy, you can choose to add one or more contacts to access and download certain data in your account after your death.”
“If your designated contacts provide proof of death to Apple and have the required key, they will automatically obtain access to that certain account data and activation lock will be removed from all your devices. Thus, it is your responsibility to keep your Digital Legacy contacts up to date.”
[via 9to5Mac, image via GaudiLab / Shutterstock.com]
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