Grieving family shares iPhone feature you really should know about before you die

A grieving daughter is hoping to raise awareness of a little-known iPhone feature most people should make use of before they die.

Losing a loved one is difficult at the best of times, especially when that moment comes unexpectedly.

The grief can be worsened if you realize you also no longer have access to all the precious photos and memories contained within the deceased person's phone.

Luckily, there's a way to ensure all those precious memories don't get lost forever - as long as you set up on feature while you're still alive.

Accessing someone's locked iPhone after they die can be impossible unless they've enabled one specific feature. Credit: Tim Robberts/Getty Images

Carrie Payne, from Queensland, Australia, found out the hard way that there is no way to gain access to a person's phone after they have passed away unless a 'Legacy Contact' has been set up in advance.

After her late father, Bryan, died suddenly, she found she was unable to access his contacts to let friends know of his passing, or get to precious family photos he'd taken on his device.

Apple has a policy that means devices that are locked with a passcode, and therefore protected by passcode encryption, can’t be accessed without erasing the device.

The policy is strictly enforced, meaning the FBI even had to turn to an Australian security firm to gain access to the locked iPhone of a gunman following the San Bernardino, California, mass shooting.

Apple has also refused to create software to hack into phones, over fears it would be the "equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of (encrypted) locks — from restaurants and banks to stores and homes”.

Carrie, who is an estate planning lawyer, told News.com.au that she'd never spoken to her dad about his phone before he died suddenly from an intracranial hemorrhage at the age of 68.

She revealed that she'd struggled to contact his friends and colleagues to tell them of Bryan's death and funeral, adding: "We also then couldn’t use any of the family photos he may have had on there in his funeral service."

Carrie shared a video on social media to raise awareness of the Legacy Contact function, which means you can set up a person who will be able to access your iCloud data in the event of your death.

As long as you are on iOS 15.2 or above on your iPhone or iPad, and macOS 12.1 on your Mac, you will be able to set up a Legacy Contact for your Apple ID.

This person will be granted access to the data stored in your Apple account after your death, including iCloud photos, contacts, calendars and messages, as well as voice memos, notes and files, and also apps you have downloaded.

Other data, such as payment information and passwords which are stored in your keychain would not be accessible, and movies, books, music and subscriptions you have bought with your Apple ID also will not be accessed.

You can choose anyone to be your Legacy Contact, even if they don't have an Apple device or account, and more than one person can be nominated to have access.

However, at the moment it's not possible to choose which types of data your Legacy Contact would have access to, and it's not possible to exclude certain types of data such as access to messages.

Adding a Legacy Contact is easy to set up - simply go into your settings on your iPhone or iPad, tap your name, click through to 'sign-in and security' and then tap Legacy Contact.

It works similarly on a Mac, where you would click the Apple menu, system settings, Apple ID, then 'sign-in and security', and Legacy Contact.

Your legacy contact will be given an access key that they will need to use alongside your death certificate to get access to your account, with Apple stating that the Legacy Contact will have access to your data for three years from when the first legacy account request is approved.

After the three years has elapsed, the account will be permanently deleted.

You can't limit what your Legacy Contact has access to... so choose wisely! Credit: Guido Mieth/Getty Images

Any Legacy Contact - if there is more than one - is able to make decision about your account data after your death, including permanently deleting it.

So it's a good idea to pick a trusted friend or family member to have access - but bear in mind they'll be able to see everything in your photos and messages before you do!

Featured image credit: Tim Robberts/Getty Images