How to Set Up a Digital Legacy Contact
If something happened to you tomorrow, could someone access your digital life?
Most people have a folder for important papers. Very few have a plan for passwords, cloud storage, or online accounts.
But our lives are increasingly digital.
Photos live in iCloud or Google Photos.
Important documents sit in Drive.
Email accounts hold financial records and subscriptions.
Two-factor authentication is tied to personal devices.
Without access, families can spend weeks navigating account recovery processes during an already overwhelming time.
Setting up a digital legacy contact is one of the simplest ways to prevent that.
This is not dramatic. It is responsible.
Below is exactly how to set it up for Apple and Google.
Apple ID: Use the Legacy Contact Feature
Apple offers a built-in Legacy Contact feature. This is the most proactive way to give someone access to your account after death.
How to set it up
On the iPhone owner’s device:
Open Settings
Tap your name at the top
Select Sign-In & Security
Tap Legacy Contact
Select Set Up
You will choose a trusted person. Choose someone responsible and organized, not simply the closest person.
Apple will generate an access key. You can print this or store it securely. Your chosen contact will also receive a notification.
What happens later
If you pass away, your legacy contact must provide:
The access key
A death certificate
They can then request access to your photos, messages, and files associated with your Apple ID.
Without this setup, access can be significantly more complicated.
Google: Use Inactive Account Manager
Google allows you to plan digital access through its Inactive Account Manager.
How to set it up
Sign in to your Google Account
Go to Data & Privacy
Scroll to More options
Select Make a plan for your digital legacy
Or go directly to: myaccount.google.com/inactive
From there:
Click Start
Choose an inactivity period between 3 and 18 months
Add up to 10 trusted contacts
Select what data they can access, such as Gmail, Photos, Drive, or YouTube
Decide whether Google sends them an access notification automatically or if you will share instructions yourself
Review and confirm your plan
If your account remains inactive for the period you selected, Google will notify your chosen contacts and grant access based on your settings.
Do Not Skip This Step
After setting up Apple and Google access, document it.
In your emergency folder, include:
The names of your digital legacy contacts
Where your password manager is stored
Basic instructions for accessing important accounts
Any business or financial account notes
This does not need to be complicated. One clear instruction page is enough.
Prepared, Not Pessimistic
Setting up digital legacy access does not mean you expect something bad to happen.
It means you understand that life is unpredictable.
Calm is built through small, practical decisions made in advance.
This task takes less than 30 minutes. It can save your family days or weeks of stress.
That is what being calmly prepared looks like.
If you are building your emergency folder this month, this is a good place to start.
