Apple's Legacy Contact Feature: Family Access For Photos and Data After You Die

[sudo-sandwich]

It's called giving your family members your password in a safe. IDK why you'd trust them after death but not before.

Alternatively, your phone will probably be crackable after several years anyway.

 

[sudo-sandwich]

The back door which governments around the world have asked for served up with a nice customer-facing feature as a bonus.

No, that backdoor already exists. They can ask Apple for anyone's iCloud data, and this has always been the case. Passwords in the cloud and on-device data are still protected by a key that Apple doesn't have. Since the latter is really only based on hardware "security" through obscurity, Apple has the ability to break it easily if they want to, but there's no record of them ever doing that.

This feature changes none of that. You get two keys instead of one, and Apple has to sign off on the second key, that's it.

 

[EightBitJoe]

I can't wait to use this feature.

Ditto. What a great article to start the weekend with, too.

Thanks, Juli!

 

[triptolemus]

This feature changes none of that.

Sure it does. Your whole statement says iCloud. The article as written says that the Legacy Contact will have access to data on your device.

Are photos, messages, notes, files, downloaded apps and their data, contacts, and calendars usable without iCloud? I think that they are.

 

[macfacts]

IF you could unlock a device, then the answer would be yes ... but, but, if you can unlock a device with Apple's help and a death certificate - the FBI could issue a death certificate, couldn't they? I am not liking this anymore at all.
Edit: since you have to designate a contact to be that person to get access, I might be wrong ... got to think this through further

You have to add the eventual bugs that could be exploited.

 

[sudo-sandwich]

Sure it does. Your whole statement says iCloud. The article as written says that the Legacy Contact will have access to data on your device.

Are photos, messages, notes, files, downloaded apps and their data, contacts, and calendars usable without iCloud? I think that they are.

Most of what I said was about on-device data. Only the first two sentences are about iCloud.

 

[pianostar9]

if ($key == $myKey || $key == $gov_backdoor_key ) {
    unlock_phone();
}

I take it you code in PHP?

 

[velocityg4]

Everyone should have a printed list stored somewhere safe that lists all assets, passwords, accounts, etc. Update it twice a year so that the people you leave behind have a way to get access to your things.

I have that. More importantly. All important account passwords are shared amongst our password managers.. I have nothing to hide and trust them with my accounts as much as they trust me.

 

[now i see it]

Do you think anyone who’s contemplating their imminent death could follow these instructions?

 

[triptolemus]

I take it you code in PHP?

Only when someone fails to warn me not to.

 

[Totorotarrot]

What? Licensed media r not available? So my family will have to rebuy all the movies and music I bought after I die..?!

 

[CLS9]

Everyone should have a printed list stored somewhere safe that lists all assets, passwords, accounts, etc. Update it twice a year so that the people you leave behind have a way to get access to your things.

I did just that. I put pdfs of my contacts list and passwords on a jump drive in my home safe and let my executor know.

 

[BigMacLover]

I can't wait to use this feature.

Are you going to fake your own death to see how well it works?

 

[rpe33]

but I don't wanna die!

 

[sudo-sandwich]

What? Licensed media r not available? So my family will have to rebuy all the movies and music I bought after I die..?!

Not if you leave behind the Apple ID password
A cynic could say Apple is just trying to prevent people from doing that by providing an alternative that lets them erase the access to the licensed media. But I don't think so.

 

[BreuerEditor]

Apple instructs your Legacy Contact to visit digital-legacy.apple.com to begin the authentication process. The Legacy Contact will need to sign in with their Apple ID and provide the necessary information to Apple.

As good if a feature that I truly believe this is, I can sadly already see in my head some lowlife scammers who will take advantage of people passing and send out spoof messages saying that that person chose you to be their legacy contact. The unsuspecting person then inputs their Apple ID and password and their account get me hacked.

 

[Westside guy]

I realize I might be in the minority on this, but... I'd need to see some granularity controls on this feature before I would enable it.

 

[MrTangent]

As a true blood immortal, the lengths you mere mortals go is fascinating. Absurd, but fascinating.

 

[1applerules1]

The only person I’m trusting with my phone is a homie who will delete my browser history and my hidden pics before the family gets ahold of it. The rest is fair game.

 

[AnonWiz]

This is way better, the only way to currently gather customer info is by court order and submitting device unlock with a receipt. This still won’t do anything about device passcodes so it’s only stuff uploaded to iCloud.

 

[coldsweat]

Everyone should have a printed list stored somewhere safe that lists all assets, passwords, accounts, etc. Update it twice a year so that the people you leave behind have a way to get access to your things.

Agreed, my Father did this & it was an absolute god-send when the worst happened - with the list in hand, I had full access to everything & it made the whole process of 'tying up loose ends' far less upsetting & stressful. Everyone should do this on a regular basis.

This is a simple but helpful addition from Apple & they are to be applauded for making the bereavement process a little bit easier.

 

[InGen]

Wasn’t really planning on dying but if Apple insists…

For those looking for an alternative to using this method of giving loved ones part of your data as memory,

- Buy an SSD or USB Drive big enough
- Encrypt it using MacOS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted) using Disk Utility on MacOS. Set a password.
- Transfer all the photos, files & documents you would want to leave behind if anything would ever happen (knock on wood)
- Tell important people in your life the password to this hard drive.
- Keep it amongst your possessions and update it as regularly as you feel necessary.
- Forget about it and live your life.

 

[George Dawes]

It's almost like they expect lots of people to die in the near future ...

 

[SurferPup]

Yeah, no. My family don't want to see the photos so they'll die with me. Friends, would be like, 'Hilarious.' or 'I had my suspicious.' or 'Oooo, why / how did he do that?'

 

[SurferPup]

Hell no my nudes die with me

Or you can just share access with some select MacRumours forum members, select, 'Share with SurferPup.'.