It’s not something anyone wants to think about, but what happens to those thousands of digital photos on your phone in case you die? Few of us can even be bothered to back up our photographs, let alone ensure their posthumous legacy. But the idea of ​​“personal effects” has changed over the years from physical items that one uses or carries with them to a complete digital past and present on their smartphone. In fact, 75 percent of Generation Z is already thinking about it.

Instead of someone claiming ownership of Grandma’s couch cushion-sized photo album that traces the family’s history since the Great Depression, we now have terabytes of group photos, lunch portraits, and selfies that your family may want to keep and treasure. And like everything that involves end-of-life preparation, it requires a plan.

Many platforms and service providers like Apple, Google, and Facebook allow you to add what is known as “Legacy Contact.” Once activated, these features generate an access key that can be shared with the chosen contact or contacts. To request access, they must provide the access code and upload a copy of their death certificate. Your legacy contact also does not need to have an Apple account or device. However, there may be time limits; For example, in Apple’s case, legacy contacts have three years to get approval to access files, notes, messages, videos, photos, and other data. For Google, where it is known as “Inactive Account Manager”, it can be set for any period between 3 and 18 months.

It is also increasingly common for people to name a Digital Executor in their last will and testament. These can be easily set up through services like Everplans and are similar to creating a legacy contact, but this person takes a more active role in archiving and preserving your digital legacy.

A Digital Executor can archive your personal files, photos, videos and other content you have created, delete specific files from your computer or other devices or even erase entire hard drives at your instructions, and can close specific online accounts to stop payments. Additionally, a Digital Executor may be asked to maintain accounts, transfer income-generating platforms (such as a personal website) to your heirs, and other services.

At the end of the day, it’s a good habit to frequently back up valuable photos and data to a separate hard drive. It’s also a good habit to periodically create hard copies, whether by printing meaningful photographs or creating curated books based on specific events like vacations, graduations, or just a particularly good summer. At best, it will give you peace of mind should you lose or damage your phone, and at worst, it will prevent your digital legacy from being hidden from your loved ones forever.

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