Apple users can now designate a legacy contact in the event of death. This new digital inheritance feature has been available since yesterday, with the launch of the IOS 15.2 update.
“Adding a legatee contact is the easiest and most secure way to grant a trusted person access to the data stored in your Apple account after your death,” announces the apple brand on its website.
Just activate two-factor identification for your Apple ID, and name one or more relatives, from the updated iPhone settings, who will be able to access your data. The chosen contact does not even need to have an iPhone! Anyone over 13, with or without an Apple device, can be nominated. However, she must have a death certificate to recover access.
The requests will be reviewed by Apple, which, once the request is approved, will send an access key in the form of a QR code to the loved one. “The data that a legatee contact can access depends on what the account holder has stored in iCloud,” says the company.
The American giant adds that access is granted “for a limited period, ie three years, after which the account is permanently deleted”.
This feature is not a first in the digital world. Since 2015, Facebook has made it possible to transform the profiles of deceased people into commemorative pages, managed by designated contacts. If the legatee can write publications and accept friend requests on Facebook, he does not have access to the messages sent, a maneuver now possible via the Digital legacy from Apple.
With its update, Apple also seems to be focusing on security and privacy issues. A second feature, the “App Privacy Report” allows you to see how often apps have accessed your location, photos, mic and contacts over the past seven days ”.