ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — There is a serious discussion you need to have with your loved ones about something you can’t fathom and iPhone legacy contacts could help.

When you think about how much of your life is on your phone, it makes you realize how important it would be to leave that data for someone in your family in case something happens to you.

You can’t do that unless you set up a Legacy Contact. Legacy Contacts can access the data you have on your phone and in iCloud. Photos, notes, documents, contacts, calendars, and other personal data that would be important to family members, all can be accessed.

To choose a Legacy Contact, go to settings, your ID, and then ‘sign-in and security’ and look for Legacy contacts. You can add them here. People you have in family sharing are automatically listed, or you can choose someone else in your contacts.

You’ll be asked to share with them an access key, a long string of letters, numbers, and special characters. They can also use a QR code that you can print out. This is a good idea if they don’t have an iPhone or Apple account.

If something happens to you, they can scan the code and send a copy of the death certificate. At that time, Apple will unlock the phone and allow them to download your data.

Apple famously does not unlock someone’s phone under any circumstances unless they’ve added Legacy Contacts. Something important for you and your family.

Many estate planners and family lawyers are now paying particular attention to a person’s digital information. You can also include Apple’s Legacy contact and the QR code with a family attorney or with the will.

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