What an Apple Legacy Contact actually unlocks
A Legacy Contact can request access to most data stored in your Apple Account once Apple verifies the request. That includes iCloud Photos, Notes, Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Messages in iCloud, Voice Memos, Safari bookmarks and reading list, Health data, and files in iCloud Drive. It does not include payment information, subscriptions, items purchased with your Apple Account such as music, films, books, or apps, or data stored in Keychain such as saved passwords and payment cards. Activation Lock is removed for devices, so the family can reset and reuse them.
Set up a Legacy Contact on iPhone or iPad
Open Settings and tap your name at the top. Tap Sign-In and Security, then Legacy Contact. Tap Add Legacy Contact. You may need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. Choose a contact, then choose how to share the access key: send it through Messages so they can save it on their device, or print a paper copy to store with your important documents. You can add more than one Legacy Contact, and you can remove or change them at any time.
Set up a Legacy Contact on a Mac
Open System Settings and click your name at the top of the sidebar. Click Sign-In and Security, then click Legacy Contact and follow the prompts. The flow is the same as on iPhone: you pick a person, then choose to share the access key digitally or print it. Keep at least one printed copy somewhere your executor or solicitor can find it, separate from the device.
What your Legacy Contact does after you pass away
The Legacy Contact opens the Digital Legacy section on their own Apple device, or visits digital-legacy.apple.com, and submits the access key together with a copy of your death certificate. Apple reviews the request, which typically takes a few days. Once approved, they receive a separate Legacy Contact Apple Account they can use to download your data for up to three years, after which the account is permanently deleted.
Where Apple Legacy Contact stops, and where Y.O.D.O. starts
Apple unlocks files. It does not deliver a message in your voice to the person who needs to hear it, it does not check on you while you are alive, and it does not notify the people on your list when something changes. Y.O.D.O. is a private communication support service that holds your sealed messages, runs scheduled and quick check-ins on your rhythm, and releases what you wrote to the person you named, only after a verified passing with a 72-hour dispute window. Most people set up an Apple Legacy Contact for the data, and use Y.O.D.O. for the words and the handover.
Use both together
We suggest naming the same trusted person as both your Apple Legacy Contact and a Y.O.D.O. Delegate, and keeping a short note in your Y.O.D.O. handover that explains where the Apple access key is stored. That way the family can recover photos and files through Apple, and read your sealed messages, instructions, and goodbyes through Y.O.D.O., without scrambling to find any of it.