Google and Apple offer advance plans for handling accounts after death
Google and Apple let people plan what happens to their digital accounts after death, but access depends on settings made in advance. Without a plan, relatives may be able to request account closure, but they should not assume they can retrieve the person’s data.
Google’s Inactive Account Manager can delete data after three, six or 12 months of inactivity, or share it with up to 10 trusted contacts. Without that setting, Google may delete an account after at least two years of inactivity; relatives can request earlier deactivation but will not receive its data. Apple users can name up to five Legacy Contacts, who need an access key and death certificate to retrieve eligible iCloud data, with three years to download it; Apple deletes inactive accounts after a shorter period.
- Plan Google account handling with Inactive Account Manager.
- Apple Legacy Contacts need an access key and death certificate.
- Apple’s inactive account deletion timeline is shorter than Google’s.
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When someone dies, their digital accounts—such as those with Google and Apple—contain personal data, photographs, emails and other information. Without advance planning, this information is often locked away, inaccessible to family and friends, or deleted automatically by the companies. This has become an increasingly important practical matter as people accumulate more digital information throughout their lives.
Google and Apple have introduced tools that allow people to decide in advance what happens to their accounts and data after death. Google's service lets people set data to be deleted or shared with chosen contacts, whilst Apple permits users to name up to five "Legacy Contacts" who can retrieve certain information with proof of death. Both services require people to configure these settings whilst they are still alive.
For those without advance planning, the outcomes are uncertain and often unfavourable. Family members may be unable to access cherished photographs, emails or other personal information, and companies may delete accounts automatically after periods of inactivity. The availability of these planning tools means families now have a way to handle digital legacies, though this requires foresight and action during a person's lifetime.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A person's digital accounts contain photographs, messages, documents, and financial records that constitute a form of personal property and legacy. These Google and Apple features respect individual autonomy by enabling people to decide during their lifetime who should access their digital assets after death, ensuring their wishes are honoured and their loved ones can preserve important memories. Treating digital accounts like any other personal property, with options for succession planning, respects people's control over their own affairs and allows families to maintain connections to their deceased loved ones.
The case against
Digital accounts contain intimate personal communications and information that individuals shared with expectations of privacy and confidentiality, often involving others who had no expectation their messages would be shared with relatives. The deceased cannot consent to future access, making strong default privacy protections ethically essential to protect both the dignity of the deceased and the privacy interests of everyone they communicated with. Limiting family access without legal authority such as an executor or court order appropriately safeguards privacy interests that extend beyond an individual's lifetime.
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Originally published by Engadget as “What happens to Google and Apple accounts when the owner dies?”.