If you die or can no longer manage your accounts, your family usually cannot get into your iPhone photos, Gmail or Facebook, even with your password. Two-factor codes go to your locked phone, and the companies keep accounts private unless you named someone in advance.
Set a legacy contact in three places: Apple (Settings › your name › Sign-In & Security › Legacy Contact), Google (myaccount.google.com/inactive) and Facebook (Accounts Center › Memorialization). Each takes about five minutes and costs nothing. In most US states, a choice made in these tools generally takes priority over instructions in a will.
What each tool gives your family
| Service | Tool | What your contact gets |
|---|---|---|
| Apple (iCloud, iPhone, Mac) | Legacy Contact | With your access key and a death certificate, a request for photos, messages, notes, files and backups stored in iCloud. Not Keychain passwords, payment details or purchased media. |
| Google (Gmail, Photos, Drive) | Inactive Account Manager | After 3, 6, 12 or 18 months with no activity, up to 10 people get links to download the data you chose. |
| Legacy contact | Manages your memorialized profile. Cannot log in or read your messages. | |
| Instagram, Microsoft | No equivalent tool | Family can request memorialization or removal; content is generally not released without a court order. |
Set up Apple Legacy Contact
You need iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2 or macOS Monterey 12.1 or later, and two-factor authentication on your Apple Account.
- On iPhone or iPad, open Settings and tap your name. On a Mac, open System Settings and click your name.
- Tap Sign-In & Security › Legacy Contact › Add Legacy Contact, then confirm with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
- Choose a person from your contacts or type a name. You can add more than one, and any one of them can request access alone.
- Share the access key. If the person uses an iPhone with iMessage, send it as a message. Otherwise choose Print a Copy.
- Store a printed copy with your will or important papers. Apple cannot replace a lost access key, and your contact needs it along with your death certificate.
After a death, the Legacy Contact starts the request in their own Settings or at digital-legacy.apple.com. Access is temporary, so they should download what they need once Apple approves it (Apple).
Set up Google Inactive Account Manager
- On a computer, sign in and go to myaccount.google.com/inactive, or open your Google Account › Data & privacy › Make a plan for your digital legacy, then click Start.
- Choose how long Google waits with no activity before acting: 3, 6, 12 or 18 months.
- Add up to 10 people. For each, pick what they can download, such as Gmail, Google Photos, Drive and Contacts, and add a short message.
- Choose whether Google deletes the account afterward, and whether Gmail sends an automatic reply.
- Check the phone number and recovery email Google uses to warn you before the plan runs.
Your people receive an email when the plan runs and have three months to download the data (Google). Repeat this for every Google account you use, including old Gmail addresses.
Set up a Facebook legacy contact
- Open Settings & privacy › Settings › Accounts Center.
- Go to Personal details › Account ownership and control › Memorialization. Menu names in Accounts Center change often; if yours differ, search Settings for “Memorialization”.
- Pick a Facebook friend as your legacy contact, or choose to have your account deleted after death.
A legacy contact can pin a tribute post, update the profile picture and respond to friend requests. They cannot read your messages or remove friends (Meta).
The gaps these tools leave
- Passwords. Apple Legacy Contact does not pass on Keychain passwords. Set up emergency access in your password manager too; our guide to password manager emergency access walks through it.
- Your phone. Apple removes Activation Lock after approving a Legacy Contact, but that only lets the device be erased and reused. The photos and messages on a locked phone stay locked without the passcode, so keep it in a sealed envelope with your estate papers.
- Microsoft accounts. Outlook.com and OneDrive have no legacy tool and close after long inactivity. See what happens to your accounts when you die.
- Banks, subscriptions and everything else. Your family needs a list of what you have and what you want done with it.
What happens when your contact asks for access
Apple. Your Legacy Contact starts a request on their own device or at digital-legacy.apple.com, enters the access key and uploads your death certificate. Apple reviews it, and once approved, gives them a special Legacy Contact Apple Account to sign in with at iCloud.com or download data at privacy.apple.com. At that point your own Apple Account stops working and Activation Lock is removed from your devices, so they can be erased and reused (Apple).
Google. When your plan runs, Google emails each person you chose with a link to download the data you gave them. They verify with the phone number you entered for them, and the download arrives as a ZIP archive, much like a Google Takeout export.
Facebook. Someone reports your death with proof, Facebook memorializes the profile, and your legacy contact can then manage it.
How to choose the right person
- Pick someone likely to outlive you and comfortable with technology, or at least willing to ask for help.
- Add a second person. Apple and Google both allow more than one contact. With Apple, any one of them can act alone, including deleting your data.
- Match people to data. In Google, you can give one person your photos and another your Drive documents.
- Your Apple Legacy Contact does not need an iPhone or an Apple Account, but they must be over 13 to request access.
Keep the tools working
- Apple sends a confirmation email when you add a Legacy Contact. If you shared the access key by iMessage and they never opened it, Apple may remove them automatically; check the list in Sign-In & Security › Legacy Contact.
- Google sends reminders that Inactive Account Manager is on. Keep the phone number and recovery email current.
- Google may delete a personal account after two years of inactivity across Google if no plan is set, so a plan protects old accounts too.
- Review all three once a year, and after a marriage, divorce or death in the family.
Questions
Will my legacy contact be able to read my messages while I am alive? No. Apple, Google and Facebook only act after a death certificate is verified or, for Google, after your chosen period of inactivity.
Can I change my mind later? Yes. You can remove or replace a legacy contact at any time in the same settings. Removing an Apple Legacy Contact makes their access key stop working.
Does a legacy contact replace a will? No. It covers that one account. Your will and your digital estate planning checklist cover everything else.
What about my phone passcode? None of these tools unlocks the data on a locked phone. Keep the passcode sealed with your estate papers.
Digital Legacy & Account Access Kit · $24
A 13-page printable organizer with these setup steps, an access map for your phone and password manager, fill-in pages for every account and device, and a first-month checklist for your family. No passwords written down.
Steps checked against Apple, Google and Meta help pages in November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; for a will or trust, talk to an estate attorney in your state.
Sources
- Apple Support: How to add a Legacy Contact for your Apple Account
- Google Account Help: About Inactive Account Manager
- Facebook Help Center: What is a legacy contact on Facebook?
- Apple Support: Request access to an Apple Account as a Legacy Contact
