Apple Legacy Contact: How to Set It Up, and How to Use It After a Death

The phone is on the kitchen table, and nobody is sure what's on it or how to get to it. If your parent or partner died recently and you're trying to reach their photos, emails, or documents stored in iCloud, Apple's Legacy Contact system is the official route - and this guide walks through every step of it.

Before you start

What you need in hand:

• The person's Apple ID email address (the one they used for iCloud)

• A death certificate - either the original or a certified copy

• Your own Apple ID (you'll use this, not theirs, to make the request)

• Access to the person's iPhone, iPad, or Mac - or to iCloud.com - if you're trying to find their Apple ID

• An access key, if the person set one up before they died (more on this below)

One thing not to do: Do not factory-reset or erase the person's device. If you do, any data stored only on that device - and not backed up to iCloud - is gone. There is no way to recover it.

There is no urgency here. Apple does not automatically delete accounts after a death. You have time to do this carefully.

The fastest safe way to access a loved one's Apple account

Apple's Legacy Contact system is the official, sanctioned way to access a person's iCloud photos, email, documents, notes, and contacts after they die. You make a request at Apple's dedicated portal, submit a death certificate, and Apple gives you a temporary account that lets you download the data. No password needed, no legal grey area. This is the path Apple built for exactly this situation.

A note on what Legacy Contact does - and doesn't - include

Before going further, it helps to know what you're actually getting access to. Once Apple approves your request, you can download: photos and videos, iCloud Mail, iCloud Drive files, Notes, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Safari bookmarks, and Voice Memos.

What is not included: passwords stored in iCloud Keychain, payment information, and licensed media - meaning music, films, books, or apps purchased through iTunes or the App Store. Those licences belong to the account holder and cannot be transferred. Apple's official Legacy Contact support page lists the full details.

Step 1: Confirm you are the designated legacy contact

If the person set up a Legacy Contact before they died - which became possible with iOS 15.2 and macOS Monterey in late 2021 - they would have generated an access key: a short printed or saved code that proves you have permission to request the data. Check whether they gave you one, or whether a document with it exists somewhere - in a will, a home safe, or an email to you.

If you have the access key, this step takes about five minutes. If you were named but can't find the access key, or you weren't named at all, Apple's Legacy Contact route won't work on its own. Apple's support pages say that in that case you'll need a court order naming you as the rightful heir to the person's personal information. It's slower, and worth discussing with the estate attorney if there is one.

If you're not sure whether you were named, check the person's iPhone: go to Settings, tap their name at the top, then Password & Security, then Legacy Contact. If you were listed, your name appears there.

Step 2: Go to Apple's digital legacy portal

Apple handles all Legacy Contact requests through one dedicated page. Here's how to reach it:

1. Go to digital-legacy.apple.com on any browser.

2. Click "Request Access."

3. Sign in with your own Apple ID - not the deceased person's.

4. Enter the deceased person's Apple ID email address when prompted.

5. Upload a copy of the death certificate. Apple accepts a scan or photo of an official document.

6. If you have an access key, enter it at this stage. If you don't, Apple will ask you to describe your relationship and may request additional documentation.

This step takes roughly ten minutes if you have everything ready. The exact labels on screen may look slightly different depending on your country and when Apple last updated the interface - if something doesn't match, the Apple support page for Legacy Contact has the most current screenshots.

Step 3: Wait for Apple to verify your request

After you submit, Apple will review the request and send you an email confirming approval. Apple doesn't publish a fixed turnaround, so allow anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. If you were not named as a Legacy Contact, the process is different and slower: Apple asks for a court order naming you as the person entitled to the account's data.

While you wait: gather a list of the other accounts the person used. Email providers, social media, subscriptions with automatic payments. This week of waiting is a reasonable time to work through that list separately, so you're not scrambling later.

Step 4: Download the data using the Legacy Contact portal

Once Apple approves your request, you'll get an email with a link back to the portal. From there:

1. Return to digital-legacy.apple.com and sign in with your Apple ID.

2. You'll see the approved account listed. Select it.

3. Choose which categories of data you want to download - photos, mail, documents, and so on. You don't have to take everything at once.

4. Apple will prepare the download and send you a link when it's ready.

5. Download to a computer with enough storage. A full photo library can be several gigabytes.

Downloading typically takes five minutes to an hour depending on how much data there is. Be aware that access to the data is available for a limited period after approval - Apple does not keep the legacy portal open indefinitely. Download what matters as soon as the link arrives.

Step 5: Access photos and documents on the person's devices

If you have the person's iPhone, iPad, or Mac physically in front of you, and you know the device passcode, you can open photos and documents directly without waiting for Apple's approval. This takes five to ten minutes and gives you immediate access to anything stored on that device.

If the device is locked and you don't know the passcode, you cannot get in - not with the death certificate, not with a court order, and not by taking it to an Apple Store. Apple does not have a master passcode. The Legacy Contact portal (Steps 1-4) is the correct path in that situation: it gives you the iCloud-backed copy of the data, which is usually the same as - or very close to - what's on the device.

Step 6: Download email and other account data

Once Legacy Contact access is approved, iCloud Mail is included in the data download from the portal. You can also access it by:

1. Going to iCloud.com and signing in with the temporary legacy account credentials Apple provides.

2. Opening Mail and reading or saving messages from there.

3. Exporting individual threads or attachments you want to keep permanently.

Exporting email can take ten minutes to an hour depending on how many messages there are. Email files are often larger than people expect - make sure you have space on the computer you're downloading to, and consider saving to an external hard drive rather than just your desktop.

If you don't know the Apple ID email address

On an unlocked iPhone or iPad: go to Settings, then tap the person's name at the top of the screen. The Apple ID email address appears just below their name. This takes two to three minutes.

On a Mac: go to System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS), then click the name at the top of the sidebar. The Apple ID is shown there.

If the device is locked and you cannot see the screen, check for the email address in old correspondence - an Apple receipt in their inbox, a confirmation email from the App Store, or a note they kept with account details. If none of that works, contact Apple directly at getsupport.apple.com with the death certificate; they can help locate the account.

If you don't know the device passcode

There is no workaround for a locked device passcode. Apple cannot reset it, an Apple Store cannot bypass it, and the death certificate does not change this. The device's data is encrypted by the passcode itself.

The practical path forward is the Legacy Contact portal - it pulls from iCloud, which holds a backed-up copy of most of what's on the device. One alternative worth checking first: if the person used a shared iCloud photo album or shared a folder with family members, those files may already be visible in your own Photos app or iCloud Drive without needing any additional access.

If the person didn't set up a Legacy Contact

You can still request access, but the process is slower and requires more documentation. At the digital-legacy.apple.com portal, choose the option for requesting access without an access key. Apple will ask for the death certificate and may ask for documentation establishing your legal relationship to the person - such as a grant of probate or letters of administration.

In some cases, particularly where there is a dispute or where the estate is complex, Apple may require a court order before granting access. This is uncommon for straightforward next-of-kin requests with clear documentation, but it happens. Expect the process to take one to two weeks at minimum, and potentially longer. Apple's support page describes exactly what documentation they accept.

If the account has already been deleted

If someone - perhaps another family member, or the person themselves before they died - deleted the Apple ID account, the iCloud data associated with it is gone. Apple cannot recover a deleted account.

However, if the person's physical device is still available and was not wiped or factory-reset, the data on the device itself may still be there. Connect the iPhone or iPad to a computer with iTunes or Finder and see whether a local backup exists. This step takes five to ten minutes. If the device was factory-reset or erased, the data is not recoverable from Apple's servers.

Where to keep it once it's safe

A shoebox of printed photos outlasts most computers - and the same logic applies to digital files. Keeping the downloaded data in one place on one laptop is not a storage plan; it's a risk.

Once you've downloaded everything from the Legacy Contact portal, make at least two copies: one on an external hard drive kept somewhere physically separate from your computer, and one in cloud storage - Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud under your own account. If photos are part of what you downloaded, a shared family memorial or private shared album means siblings and cousins can find them too, without everyone depending on you to be the keeper of a single hard drive.

When you're ready, a Glow memorial gives the whole family a place to add to the photos and documents you've gathered - so the story doesn't stay locked in one person's Downloads folder.

Questions families ask about Apple Legacy Contact

Can I still access the person's account if they had two-factor authentication turned on?
Yes. The Legacy Contact process at digital-legacy.apple.com is specifically designed to work without the person's password or two-factor authentication codes. You use your own Apple ID to make the request, and Apple verifies your identity and relationship through the death certificate and access key.

Can I change the Apple ID password or keep using the account as if it were mine?
No. Legacy Contact access is read-only and temporary. You can download data, but you cannot change the password, use the account to buy things, or transfer it to your name. The account remains the deceased person's and will eventually be closed by Apple.

What if two people in the family both want access - do we both need to apply?
Only one person needs to make the Legacy Contact request. Once the data is downloaded, that person can share specific files - photos, documents - with other family members. It is worth agreeing before you apply who will be the one to request and download, to avoid confusion.

Will I be able to see the person's iMessage conversations?
iMessages are not included in the Legacy Contact data download. Apple does not provide message content through the Legacy Contact portal. If messages were backed up to iCloud, the backup exists - but Apple does not give access to message content even to approved legacy contacts.

How long does Legacy Contact access last?
Apple makes the data available for a limited period after approving your request - the download link does not stay open indefinitely. Download everything you want as soon as the approval email arrives. If you miss the window, you would need to contact Apple to ask whether a new download can be generated, and there is no guarantee they will do so.