What happens to an Apple account when someone dies?
Apple keeps the account locked unless the owner added a Legacy Contact. With the access key and a death certificate, a Legacy Contact can get photos, messages, notes, files and device backups. Without one, a family member in the U.S. can request access with a court order, or ask Apple to delete the account.
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Quick facts
- A Legacy Contact needs the owner's access key and a death certificate to get the account's data (Apple, as of 2026).
- Adding a Legacy Contact needed iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2 or macOS Monterey 12.1 or later (Apple, as of 2026).
- Without a Legacy Contact, a family member in the U.S. needs a court order to get access (Apple, as of 2026).
- Apple can't remove a device passcode without erasing the device (Apple, as of 2026).
What is an Apple Legacy Contact?
It is someone the owner chose, while alive, to have access to certain Apple Account data after their death. The owner needed a device running iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2 or macOS Monterey 12.1 or later to add one. The Legacy Contact doesn't need an Apple Account or Apple device.
To get access, the Legacy Contact needs the access key the owner created and a death certificate. They can see photos, messages, notes, files and device backups.
They can't get movies, music, books or subscriptions bought with the account. They also can't get iCloud Keychain data, such as passwords, passkeys and payment information.
How do you get into a deceased person's Apple account without a Legacy Contact?
In the U.S., you need a court order. Apple says the order must name you as the rightful inheritor of the person's personal information, and only one person can request access.
Apple also generally asks for a death certificate. Some data is end-to-end encrypted, which means Apple can't read it, so you may still need a device passcode to see it.
Apple says the court order should:
- Name the person who died and their Apple Account
- Name you as next of kin
- State that the person used all the accounts associated with that Apple Account
- Identify you as their legal personal representative, agent or heir
- Order Apple to help
How do you delete a deceased person's Apple account?
- Go to Apple's Digital Legacy website at digital-legacy-account.apple.com.
- Sign in with your own Apple Account.
- Enter the deceased person's Apple Account and upload the legal documents Apple asks for in your country.
Can Apple unlock a dead person's iPhone?
No. Apple can't remove a device passcode without erasing the device, and it can't decrypt end-to-end encrypted data.
Apple says it might be able to help remove Activation Lock, the setting that ties the device to the person's Apple Account. Either way, the device has to be erased and restored before someone else can use it with their own Apple Account.
Questions people ask
- Can a Legacy Contact see the person's passwords?
- No. iCloud Keychain data, including passwords, passkeys and payment information, isn't shared with a Legacy Contact.
- Do movies and music bought on a dead person's Apple account pass to family?
- No. A Legacy Contact can't access movies, music, books or subscriptions bought with the account.
- Does a Legacy Contact need an iPhone?
- No. They don't need an Apple Account or an Apple device.
More questions
- What if I don't have the Legacy Contact access key?
- Then you are treated like someone without a Legacy Contact. In the U.S. that means requesting access with a court order, or asking Apple to delete the account.