Devices: security and digital legacy
Modern devices are designed to be secure, which is exactly what makes them hard for anyone else to access after you die. This guide covers phones, computers, encryption, two-factor authentication, and what your executor actually needs.
The tension you need to understand
Every security feature on your devices (PIN locks, disk encryption, two-factor authentication, biometrics) makes your data safer while you are alive and harder to access after you die. These are not flaws; they are working exactly as designed.
The answer is not to weaken your security. It is to document your security in a way that your executor can use, stored in a way that only they, and no one else, can access.
The solution: keep the security, record the keys, and store them safely where only your executor can find them.
Your phone
Your phone is probably the most information-dense device you own: photos, messages, banking apps, email, health data, and the authenticator apps that protect your other accounts. It is also the hardest thing for an executor to get into without your passcode.
The passcode problem
Without the passcode, a modern locked iPhone or Android phone is extremely hard to get into. Apple and Google design their phones so that data on a locked device is encrypted, and neither company can unlock it for anyone else. This protects you while you are alive, but it means that after your death, even specialist data recovery services often cannot help.
Record your phone passcode somewhere your executor can find it: in your password manager (with emergency access set up) or in a sealed record kept alongside your will. Without it, your executor may never get to the photos, messages, or authenticator apps on your phone, even with your other passwords.
What to record for your phone
- →Your passcode or PIN. Fingerprint and Face ID unlocking will not help after your death, and phones ask for the passcode after a restart anyway.
- →The Apple Account or Google account the phone is signed in to
- →Whether you have a SIM PIN (a separate PIN that locks the SIM card)
- →Which authenticator apps are on the phone and which accounts they protect
- →Where your phone is backed up (iCloud, Google, or a computer)
Phone backups
An up-to-date backup is a safety net. If your phone is lost, stolen, or broken, your photos and data are not gone. After your death, your Apple Legacy Contact can request your iCloud backup, which may be easier than unlocking the phone itself.
- →iPhone: Settings → [your name] → iCloud → iCloud Backup, and turn on Back Up This iPhone. You can also back up to a computer.
- →Android: backup settings are usually under Settings → Google → Backup, or Settings → System → Backup, depending on the phone.
- →Check the date of your last backup. If automatic backup is on, it should be recent.
- →Set up an Apple Legacy Contact or Google Inactive Account Manager so someone you trust can reach your backed-up data.
Emergency information on the lock screen
iPhone and Android both let you show emergency information on the lock screen without unlocking the phone. It is mainly for first responders (blood type, conditions, emergency contacts), but it also tells whoever finds your phone who to contact, such as your executor or next of kin.
iPhone: open the Health app, tap your profile picture, then Medical ID, and turn on Show When Locked. Android: look for Emergency information or Medical information in Settings (often under Safety & emergency); the exact name varies by phone.
Computers
Your computer may hold documents, photos, creative work, and emails that exist nowhere else. If the drive is encrypted and no one knows the password or recovery key, that content cannot be recovered. Encryption is designed to work that way.
Disk encryption
Most modern computers encrypt their drives: FileVault on a Mac, and BitLocker or Device Encryption on Windows. You do not notice it while you are using the computer. After your death, though, the drive cannot be read without your login password or the encryption recovery key.
FileVault and BitLocker create a recovery key when encryption is turned on, and most people never save it. Find yours now and keep it with your other important passwords, where your executor can find it. Without it, no one can read an encrypted drive, including data recovery specialists.
Finding your encryption recovery key
- →Mac: System Settings → Privacy & Security → FileVault. If you chose to let your iCloud account unlock the disk, there is no separate key to save, but whoever unlocks it will need your Apple Account password.
- →Windows: if your computer is signed in with a Microsoft account, the BitLocker recovery key is usually saved at account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey. You can also search for "Manage BitLocker" in the Start menu.
- →If you cannot find a key, you can create a new one in the same settings.
- →Write the key down on paper, or save it in your password manager. Do not keep the only copy on the encrypted computer itself.
Login passwords
Your computer login password is separate from the encryption recovery key. Your executor needs the login password to use the computer normally, and the recovery key if the computer cannot start normally. Record both in your password manager or in your sealed password record.
Old computers
Old computers are easily forgotten. A laptop in a drawer may hold photos, documents, or emails that exist nowhere else. Before giving away or recycling a computer, copy off what matters and then erase it. Tell your executor about any old devices you keep.
Mac: sign out of iCloud first, then use System Settings → General → Transfer or Reset → Erase All Content and Settings (on newer Macs). Windows: Settings → System → Recovery → Reset this PC → Remove everything.
Two-factor authentication (2FA)
Two-factor authentication is one of the best ways to protect your accounts, and one of the most overlooked problems in digital legacy planning. It keeps your accounts safe while you are alive, and can lock everyone out after you die.
The 2FA problem
With 2FA turned on, an account needs a second proof of identity as well as your password: usually a code texted to your phone, a code from an authenticator app, or a physical security key. Your executor may have your password but still be unable to get in without that second step.
If your authenticator app is on a phone your executor cannot unlock, they cannot get the codes for any account that uses it, even with your username and password. That can block email, banking, and social media all at once. Backup codes (below) are the simplest answer.
Codes sent by text message
Text message codes go to your phone number. After your death, the number will eventually be disconnected, and mobile numbers can later be given to someone else. Once that happens, the codes stop arriving. Most accounts have a recovery process for a lost phone number, but it can take weeks.
- →Note in your account inventory which phone number your important accounts use for 2FA
- →Ask your executor not to cancel your phone contract until they have dealt with your important accounts
- →Where an account allows it, add backup codes as well as text messages
Authenticator apps
Authenticator apps create a new code every 30 seconds on your phone, which is more secure than text messages. Most popular apps can now back up your codes to the cloud, but getting them back still requires signing in to the backup account, and usually unlocking a phone as well.
- →Google Authenticator can sync your codes to your Google account.
- →Microsoft Authenticator can back up to iCloud on an iPhone, or to a Microsoft account on Android.
- →Authy backs up codes with a backup password, but its desktop apps were discontinued in 2024, so it now works on phones only.
- →Whichever app you use, note its name and the account it backs up to in your password records.
- →For your most important accounts, save backup codes too. They work without the app.
Backup codes
When you set up 2FA on most services (Google, Facebook, banking apps), you are offered a set of single-use backup codes. They let you into the account without your phone, and they are the simplest way to make sure your executor is not locked out.
- →Google: myaccount.google.com → Security → 2-Step Verification → Backup codes
- →Facebook: Accounts Centre → Password and security → Two-factor authentication, then choose your account and look for backup or recovery codes
- →Apple: if you have turned on a Recovery Key for your Apple Account (under Sign-In & Security → Account Recovery), store it safely. Apple cannot help you recover the account without it.
- →Banks: ask your bank how it handles a deceased customer's online banking. Your executor will usually deal with the bank directly rather than logging in.
Most people see their backup codes once and never save them. Save the codes for every important account in your password manager or your sealed password record. If you did not save them, you can usually create new ones in the account's security settings. Your executor should still use each provider's own process first: signing in to someone else's account is not always allowed (see "Can your executor log in as you?" on the Irish law page).
External storage and old devices
External hard drives, USB sticks, old phones, and forgotten laptops often hold content that exists nowhere else, and often only their owner knows they exist.
Label everything
External drives rarely have labels. A box in the attic might hold drives with irreplaceable family photos, or drives that have been empty for a decade. An executor sorting through a home cannot tell which is which without checking every one.
- →Label every external drive clearly: "Family photos 2010–2018", "Work backups (can delete)", "Important: tax records 2015–2023"
- →List external drives in your account inventory, with where they are, what is on them, and what you want done with them
- →If you encrypt an external drive, keep its password with your other important passwords
Old phones and tablets
Old phones often hold photos that were never copied anywhere else, and the phone may be locked with a passcode you no longer remember.
- →Check old phones before getting rid of them
- →Copy any photos you want to keep into your current backup
- →If an old phone is locked and you cannot remember the passcode, reset it before getting rid of it rather than leaving it in a drawer for someone else
- →Note where old devices are kept in your account inventory
Getting rid of devices safely
Erase devices before you give them away or recycle them. They hold far more personal information than most people realise: saved passwords, photos, documents, emails, contacts, and sometimes financial details.
- →iPhone: Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Erase All Content and Settings
- →Android: look for Reset options → Erase all data (factory reset) in Settings; the exact place varies by phone
- →Mac: System Settings → General → Transfer or Reset → Erase All Content and Settings (Macs with Apple silicon or a T2 chip)
- →Windows: Settings → System → Recovery → Reset this PC → Remove everything
- →Modern phones and computers are encrypted, so a built-in reset is usually enough. For an old unencrypted hard drive with sensitive files, use a recycling service that destroys drives.
Smart home and connected devices
Smart speakers, video doorbells, thermostats, health trackers, and other connected devices are rarely part of digital legacy planning, but they can complicate things for whoever deals with your affairs.
Smart speakers and hubs
Devices like Amazon Echo and Google Nest are tied to an Amazon or Google account and may stop working when that account is closed. That matters if a partner or family member still lives in the house and relies on them. If other people use your smart home devices, make sure the account, and any subscriptions, are in a name that will carry on.
- →List smart home accounts in your account inventory
- →Note which devices other people in the household use
- →Consider whether subscriptions (Amazon Prime, Google One, Apple One) are shared with others and should be transferred rather than cancelled
Health and fitness trackers
Health data from wearables (Apple Watch, Fitbit, Garmin, Oura Ring) may matter to blood relatives, for example if there is a family history of a condition. Some services let you export your data; others delete it when the account is closed.
- →If your health data matters, check whether your service lets you export it
- →Apple Health: you can export all your health data from the Health app. Your Apple Legacy Contact can also request health data after your death.
- →If you want health information shared with blood relatives, say so in your Digital Wishes document
Security cameras and smart locks
Video doorbells (such as Ring or Nest) and security cameras are tied to online accounts and may store footage in the cloud. Some smart locks can only be opened with an app. These need to be dealt with when administering an estate, especially if other people need to get into the property.
- →Include security camera and smart lock accounts in your account inventory
- →Note the code or physical backup key for any smart lock
- →Cloud footage is usually deleted when the account is closed. If any footage might be needed, save it before the account is closed.
What to tell your executor
Your executor needs a practical briefing on your devices, not just your accounts. A single "Device Information" document can save weeks of frustration.
Your Device Information document
For each device you own, record the following. Keep the passwords and keys in your password manager or a sealed record alongside your will, not in the will itself, because a will becomes a public document after probate.
- →Device type and where it is kept (iPhone in bedside drawer; MacBook in home office; external drive labelled "Photos" in the spare room wardrobe)
- →The passcode or password for each device
- →The disk encryption recovery key (FileVault or BitLocker) for each computer
- →Which authenticator app you use, and where your backup codes are stored
- →What the device holds, and whether that is backed up anywhere else
- →What should happen to the device: keep, give to someone, or erase and recycle
Keep this document up to date. Whenever you get a new device or change a passcode, update it, and review it once a year.
Physical access
Your executor also needs to find your devices. A home with an office, spare room, attic, and plenty of drawers can take days to search. Make it easy:
- →Tell your executor where your devices are kept, in conversation and not just in a document
- →Label boxes and drawers that hold technology
- →Note where any device holding content that is not backed up is kept
- →If your executor does not live with you, think about how they would get into the house
Device checklist: quick reference
- □Record your phone passcode in your password manager or a sealed record alongside your will
- □Find and record your disk encryption recovery key (FileVault or BitLocker)
- □Save 2FA backup codes for your important accounts with your password records
- □Note which authenticator app you use and the account it backs up to
- □Enable automatic phone backup to iCloud or Google
- □Record your computer login password with your other password records
- □Check the date of your last phone backup
- □Note which accounts send 2FA codes by text to your phone number
- □Label all external hard drives with contents and importance
- □List all external drives and old devices in your account inventory
- □Review old phones and transfer any photos that exist nowhere else
- □Add a "find my devices" note to your executor briefing
- □Set up emergency information on your phone's lock screen
- □Review smart home accounts and note which are shared with household members
- □Note any health tracker data that may matter to your blood relatives
- □Add device disposal instructions to your Digital Wishes document