How to set up Apple Legacy Contact, Google Inactive Account Manager and Facebook legacy contact

Before you start

Pick your people. One or two people you trust. It doesn't have to be the same person for every account.
Tell them. Apple and Facebook let you send the person a message when you choose them. Google doesn't tell anyone until your plan actually runs. Either way, a short conversation now saves confusion later.
Know what these settings don't do. None of them hands over your passwords. Apple's Legacy Contact, for example, can't see the passwords and passkeys saved in iCloud Keychain. That's a good thing.

Apple: Legacy Contact

A Legacy Contact is someone you choose who can request access to the data stored in your Apple Account after your death. Without one, Apple says a family in the US generally needs a court order to request access to a loved one's account (Apple Support).

What you need

From Apple Support:

An Apple device running iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2 or macOS Monterey 12.1 or later
Two-factor authentication turned on for your Apple Account
A Legacy Contact who is over 13 (the age varies by country or region). They don't need an Apple device or an Apple Account of their own.

On iPhone or iPad

Open Settings and tap your name.
Tap Sign-In & Security, then Legacy Contact.
Tap Add Legacy Contact.
Choose a Family Sharing member, or tap Choose Someone Else and pick a contact.
Choose how to share the access key: send it in iMessage (this option appears only if you both use iMessage), or print a copy.

On a Mac

From the Apple menu, choose System Settings, then click your name.
Click Sign-In & Security, then Legacy Contact.
Click Add Legacy Contact, then choose the person and how to share the access key.

Apple emails you a confirmation when a Legacy Contact is added.

About the access key

When the time comes, your Legacy Contact will need two things: the access key you created and a copy of your death certificate. They can make the request on an Apple device or on Apple's Digital Legacy website (how the request works). If they accepted your iMessage, their device keeps a copy of the key automatically. If you printed it, Apple suggests you can also keep a copy with your estate planning documents.

You can see the key again any time: go back to Legacy Contact, tap the person's name, then View Access Key.

What they can and can't get

A Legacy Contact can get data you stored in iCloud, such as photos, messages, notes, mail, contacts, calendars, iCloud Drive files and device backups. They can't get movies, music, books or subscriptions you bought, payment information, or anything in iCloud Keychain, such as saved passwords and passkeys (Apple's full list).

Access doesn't last forever. Apple says it's available for three years from when it approves the first request, and then the account is permanently deleted. Once a request is approved, the original account stops working and Activation Lock is removed from its devices.

Worth knowing

You can have more than one Legacy Contact, and any one of them can make decisions about your data on their own, including deleting it permanently. Choose accordingly.
To remove someone, go back to Legacy Contact, tap their name, then Remove Contact. Apple says they won't be notified (Apple Support).
A Legacy Contact gets your iCloud data, not your phone. Your family still needs a way into the device itself, so write down where its passcode is kept.

Google: Inactive Account Manager

Inactive Account Manager tells Google what to do if your Google Account stops being used for a length of time you choose. It covers the whole account, which includes things like Gmail, Google Photos and Google Drive.

How to set it up

Sign in at myaccount.google.com/inactive.
Choose how long Google should wait before your plan runs. Google has described choices of 3, 6, 12 or 18 months without activity.
Check the phone number and email Google will use to reach you first. Google says it contacts you before the plan runs, so an old number here can trip you up.
Add the people Google should contact, up to 10. For each one, choose whether they only get a notification email or can also download some or all of your data.
If you like, write the message they'll receive, set an automatic Gmail reply, and choose whether Google should delete your account after the plan runs.

The setup screens walk you through each choice, and you can change or turn off your plan from the same page later.

What it does and doesn't do

Your contacts aren't told during setup. They hear from Google only after the waiting period ends (Google Account Help).
They verify a phone number before they can download anything, so only the person you chose can get your data.
The download window is limited. When Google introduced the current version, it said contacts would have 3 months to download what you shared (Google Security Blog).
It never shares your password. Contacts download copies of your data. They don't sign in as you.

Why it matters: Google says it reserves the right to delete a Google Account that has been inactive across Google for at least two years. Without a plan, a family can still submit a request about a deceased user's account, but Google says it provides content only in certain circumstances, after careful review, and calls Inactive Account Manager "the best way" to tell it who should have access.

Facebook: legacy contact, or deletion

When Facebook learns that someone has died, their account can be memorialized: the profile stays up as a place where friends and family can share memories. A legacy contact is the person you choose to look after your memorialized profile. Or you can choose to have your account permanently deleted after your death instead.

What a legacy contact can do

According to Meta's announcements (2015, 2019), a legacy contact can:

Pin a post at the top of your profile, which families often use for service details
Change your profile picture and cover photo
Respond to new friend requests
Manage tributes, including who can post and see them
Download an archive of your photos, posts and profile information, if you gave them permission

What they can't do: log in as you, or read your private messages.

How to set it up

In the Facebook app or on the website, open the menu, then Settings & privacy, then Settings.
Find Memorialization. Meta has moved it more than once. In recent versions it sits in Accounts Center, under Personal details, then Account ownership and control.
Choose your legacy contact from your friends, and decide whether they can download an archive of your account. Facebook lets you send them a message to let them know.
Or, on the same screen, choose to have your account deleted after your death.

If you can't find the setting, search "legacy contact" in the Facebook Help Center for the current steps. Minors can't choose a legacy contact. If someone dies without choosing one, Meta says friends and family can still ask for the account to be memorialized.

What about everything else?

Password managers. Many have an emergency access feature that lets a person you choose request access, usually after a waiting period you set. If yours does, turn it on, and write down that you did.
Two-step verification. If your sign-in codes go to your phone, your family needs to get into your phone. Write down where the passcode is kept, not the passcode itself.
Other accounts. Banks, email providers, other social networks and shopping sites each have their own process for families. A simple list of your accounts, with where the access information is kept, will save someone hours.

What to write down afterward

When you're done, record:

Which of these settings you turned on, and the date
Who your contacts are for each one
Where your Apple access key is kept (for example, a printed copy in the fire box)
Where the access information for your phone and computer is kept
Whether password-manager emergency access is set up, and for whom
What you'd like done with each social media account: memorialize, delete, or leave it to your family

Never write down the passwords themselves.

Write where things are kept and who you chose. Passcodes, passwords, PINs and recovery codes stay out of the file. And look at your choices once a year, or after a new phone, a new email address or a change in who you'd want to trust.

A page for all of it

File 07 in the Family File, Digital Life, has a place for each of these settings, your social media wishes and where the access information is kept. It never asks for a password. Fillable PDF for $29, or a printed book with your family's name on the cover for $59.

Get the Family File Or start with the free One-Pager

This guide is general information, not legal, tax, investment or insurance advice. Apple, Google and Meta change their settings and policies from time to time, so check the linked help pages for the current steps. Last reviewed October 2026.