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    Phone & Tablet
    Beginner
    6 min read 5 stepsMay 8, 2026Verified May 2026

    How to Set Up Apple Legacy Contact on iPhone

    Apple Legacy Contact lets a trusted person access your photos, messages, and notes after you pass away. Here is the plain way to set it up on your iPhone.

    At a Glance

    Category
    Phone & Tablet
    Difficulty
    Beginner
    Read Time
    6 min read
    Steps
    5
    Topics covered
    apple
    iphone
    legacy contact
    estate planning
    icloud

    In this guide (5 steps):

    1. 1.Open Settings and Tap Your Name
    2. 2.Tap Sign-In and Security
    3. 3.Add Your Legacy Contact
    4. 4.Send or Print the Access Key
    5. 5.Tell the Person What You Did
    1

    Open Settings and Tap Your Name

    ~33s
    On your iPhone, open the Settings app. The icon looks like gray gears. At the very top of the Settings screen you will see your name and your photo, if you have one set. Tap on your name. This opens your Apple ID settings. If you do not see your name at the top, you are not signed in to an Apple ID. And you need to sign in first before you can set up Legacy Contact.

    Quick Tip

    If you forgot your Apple ID password, tap "Forgot Apple ID or Password" and follow the steps to reset it before going further.

    2

    Tap Sign-In and Security

    ~33s
    On the Apple ID screen, scroll down a bit. You will see a row labeled "Sign-In and Security." Tap that row. The next screen shows password options, two-factor authentication, and recovery options. Scroll down on this screen until you see "Legacy Contact." Tap on Legacy Contact to begin the setup. If you do not see this option, your iPhone needs an iOS update. Go back to Settings, tap General, then Software Update, and install any available updates.

    Warning

    You must have two-factor authentication turned on for your Apple ID to use Legacy Contact. If it is off, the screen will prompt you to turn it on first.

    3

    Add Your Legacy Contact

    ~34s
    Tap "Add Legacy Contact." Read the explanation screen and tap Continue. You will be asked to choose a person from your contacts list, or you can type in their name and email address by hand. Pick the person you trust most, often a spouse or adult child. After you choose, tap Next. Apple will ask you to confirm with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. This is normal. It is making sure you are the account owner.

    Quick Tip

    If you want to add more than one person, you can repeat this step up to five times. Most families do well with two or three Legacy Contacts.

    4

    Send or Print the Access Key

    ~34s
    After confirming, Apple shows you an access key. This key is the document the person will need to send to Apple along with your death certificate. You have two choices. You can tap "Send a Copy" to text the key to the person right now through Messages. Or you can tap "Print a Copy" and print the key on paper to keep with your will. Most people do both. Send the digital copy and also print one for safekeeping.

    Warning

    If you only send the digital copy and the person loses their phone, the printed copy is the backup. Always keep one paper copy with your important documents.

    5

    Tell the Person What You Did

    ~32s
    Call or visit the person you named. Explain that you set them as your Apple Legacy Contact. Tell them what it means: when you pass away, they can send Apple your death certificate and the access key, and Apple will give them access to your photos, messages, and other iCloud files for three years. Tell them where the printed access key is stored. This conversation matters because the feature only works if the person knows it exists.

    Quick Tip

    Write the date you set this up in your calendar or phone notes so you remember to review it each year.

    You Did It!

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    Apple Legacy Contact is a free feature built into every iPhone running iOS 15.2 or later — meaning every iPhone on the current iOS 18 (2026) or any iOS 15+ release has it. It lets you name up to five trusted people who can request access to the photos, messages, notes, contacts, and files in your iCloud account after you pass away. Without a Legacy Contact set up, your family has to send Apple a court order to unlock the account, which can take months and sometimes never works at all. With a Legacy Contact set up, the person you chose only needs to send Apple your death certificate and a special access key that you have given them in advance. Apple then unlocks a special version of the account for them within a few days.

    The feature is built into the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. You do not need to download anything. And you do not need to pay for anything. The whole setup takes about five minutes per person you add. You will choose the person, generate an access key as a QR code or printed page, and either send the key to them through Messages or print it out and put it with your important papers. Apple does not contact the person until your family asks for the account to be unlocked. So it is private until needed.

    You should add at least one Legacy Contact, and most families benefit from adding two or three. Common choices are a spouse, an adult child, or a close sibling. The person does not need to have an Apple device to be your Legacy Contact, although having an Apple ID makes the process smoother. They will need a copy of your death certificate when the time comes, which any funeral home can provide. They will also need the access key you gave them, which is why writing it down and storing it with your will or in a safe place matters more than anything else in this setup.

    One important note: a Legacy Contact gets access to most of what is in your iCloud account, but not everything. They cannot access your saved passwords in iCloud Keychain, your purchased music or movies, or any subscription content. Photos, messages, notes, contacts, calendars, reminders, and files in iCloud Drive are all included. The account stays accessible to the Legacy Contact for three years after the request is approved, then it is permanently deleted. This setup pairs well with a written digital legacy plan that lists your other accounts and what you want done with them.

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    Official Resources

    Apple Support — iPhoneGoogle Help — AndroidSamsung Support

    Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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