Heritkey › Guides Heritkey vs. Apple Legacy Contact: what each one passes on to your family
29 October 2026 · 2 min read
Quick verdict
Set up Legacy Contact: it's free and it passes on your iCloud photos, messages and files. But it leaves out the one thing your family needs to sort out everything else: the passwords saved in iCloud Keychain. It also only works after a death, with a death certificate and Apple's approval. Heritkey passes on the logins, documents and instructions, and opens after a waiting period you choose.
Apple's Legacy Contact is one of the best free tools for passing on a digital life, and every iPhone user should consider it. But it was designed to hand over iCloud data, not the keys to your email, bank and subscriptions. Here's exactly what each one covers, and where they fit together.
Lock in the $3.99 /month early-access price → Or $74.99 once for life. Your heirs never pay. Waitlist members keep the launch price.
What Legacy Contact does well
You name one or more Legacy Contacts and give each one an access key. After your death, a Legacy Contact requests access from Apple with that key and a death certificate. Once Apple approves, they can download your photos, messages, notes, files, contacts, calendars and device backups from iCloud, for a limited time. It's free and takes a few minutes. See Apple Legacy Contact explained for the setup.
Three things it can't do
Pass on your passwords. Passwords saved in iCloud Keychain aren't included, nor are payment details or purchased media. Your family gets the photos, but not the logins to your email, bank, pension or subscriptions.Help while you're alive. It needs a death certificate. If you're in hospital or can no longer manage your affairs, it doesn't open.Carry your instructions. There's no place for your wishes, the list of accounts that exist, or a message to the people you love.
Side by side
Apple Legacy Contact Heritkey
Passes on photos and iCloud files ✓ Yes ⚠ Documents you add, not your whole library Passes on saved passwords ✗ Keychain excluded ✓ Yes Accounts outside Apple ✗ No ✓ Any account, any service Works if you're seriously ill ✗ Needs a death certificate ✓ Opens after your waiting period Your wishes and personal messages ✗ No ✓ Yes You can refuse a request ✗ Apple decides ✓ One tap Price Free $3.99 a month or $74.99 once
Lock in the $3.99 /month early-access price → Or $74.99 once for life. Your heirs never pay. Waitlist members keep the launch price.
Which one should you choose?
Both. Turn on Legacy Contact for your iCloud data today. Use Heritkey for what Legacy Contact leaves out: the passwords, two-factor backup codes, account list, documents and wishes that let your family deal with everything else, without waiting for Apple. If you only have Legacy Contact, your family will get your photos and still be locked out of your email.
Apple's details come from its support documents as of October 2026. Heritkey is launching soon; its details describe how it's being built.
Leave your family the keys
Heritkey keeps your passwords, accounts and documents in an end-to-end encrypted vault that the people you choose can open only when it's needed. Launching soon.
Join the waitlist
More guides
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