A generation ago, a family's memories lived in a shoebox of photos and a few letters. Today they live in phones, cloud accounts, and social media profiles, often locked behind passwords that only one person knows. When that person dies, those memories can disappear, sometimes permanently.
People interested in the long-term future often think about this more than most. If someone, someday, wanted to know who you were, what would they find? Even if you never think about revival at all, your grandchildren and great-grandchildren may want to hear your voice, see your photos, and know your story. Here is how to make that possible.
Part 1: Make sure someone can reach your accounts
Most major platforms now have built-in tools for this. They take a few minutes each.
Google (Gmail, Photos, Drive, YouTube)
Google's Inactive Account Manager lets you choose up to 10 people to be notified, and optionally to receive selected data, if your account is inactive for a period you choose. You can share all of your data or only certain types, and you can send different things to different people. Google also notes that accounts inactive for at least two years may be deleted, so setting this up protects against losing everything.
Apple (iCloud photos, messages, notes, backups)
Apple's Legacy Contact feature lets you name one or more people who can request access to data stored in your Apple Account after you die, such as photos, messages, notes and device backups. They will need an access key you generate when you add them, plus a death certificate. Print the key and keep it with your estate papers, because without it the process is much harder. Some things are excluded, including passwords in iCloud Keychain and purchased media.
Facebook lets you choose a legacy contact to look after your profile once it is memorialized, or to have your account deleted after you die. A legacy contact can write a pinned post, update the profile picture, and request removal, but cannot log in as you or read your messages.
Everything else
- Password manager. Many password managers have an emergency access feature that lets a trusted person request access after a waiting period. This is often the single most useful step, because it unlocks everything else.
- Phone passcode. Consider writing it down and storing it with your will or with someone you trust. A locked phone can hold years of photos.
- Email. Your email account is often the key to resetting every other account.
The legal side
Many US states have adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which, roughly, lets your instructions (including platform tools like the ones above) guide what your executor can access. Our article on legal documents and revival wishes covers how this fits with your will. For specific advice, talk to an estate attorney.
Part 2: Preserve the memories themselves
Access is only half the job. Files can be lost even when someone has the password.
Follow the 3-2-1 rule
A common rule of thumb is to keep three copies of anything important, on two different kinds of storage, with one copy somewhere else. For example: photos on your phone, a cloud backup, and an external drive kept at a relative's house.
Use formats that will last
Formats come and go. Common, open formats are the safest bet for the long run: JPEG or PNG for photos, PDF for documents, plain text for notes, MP4 for video, MP3 or WAV for audio. Every few years, check that your old files still open.
Label things
A thousand unlabeled photos are hard for anyone else to use. Even simple folder names like "1998 Grandma's 80th birthday" help enormously. Name the people in group photos while you still remember who they are.
Print the very best
Paper is surprisingly durable. A small printed album of the photos that matter most, with names and dates written on the back, can outlast several generations of devices.
Part 3: Record your story
The most precious part of a digital legacy is often the simplest: your own voice telling your own story. A few ideas:
- Record an interview. Ask a family member to interview you on a phone for half an hour. Where you grew up, how you met your partner, what you learned the hard way.
- Write letters to be opened later. To a child on their wedding day, to a grandchild you may not meet.
- Explain your values. What mattered to you, and why. Future generations often want this more than facts and dates.
- Record your wishes. Including the big ones: what you would want at the end of life, and, if you have thought about it, whether you would want to be brought back if science ever allowed. See how to leave instructions for future revival.
Part 4: Write it all down in one place
Create a one-page "digital legacy" sheet and keep it with your will or letter of instruction. List:
- Which accounts you have and which tools you have set up (Google, Apple, Facebook, password manager).
- Where backups are stored.
- Which photos, videos or writings you most want kept, and who should have them.
- Which accounts you would like closed.
Review it once a year. It takes ten minutes and could save your family weeks of frustration.
Why this matters
Preserving memories is something everyone can do today, with no special technology and no cost beyond a little time. Whether or not anyone is ever revived, the people who come after you will be able to know you, hear you, and understand what you wanted. If thinking about legacy has you wondering about the bigger question, would you want to be brought back? is a good next read.