The digital afterlife: app lets friends and family unlock your accounts after death

Dealing with the loss of a loved one is undoubtedly one of the hardest things that many of us will have to deal with in our lives. What compounds that pain is that many people who pass away leave behind not only their beloved friends and family, but also a vast quantity of accounts and devices that can no longer be accessed.

Now online security company Keeper Security has created a method of passing on essential information and passwords to select people in the case of tragedy striking.

You can create a digital ‘vault’ which gets released to your designated family and friends after a specified wait period, meaning they can access essential files, documents, and your device passwords.

While there may well be some people reading this that would quite like the idea of their family never being able to go through their browsing history, the harsh reality is that for many people, the now-redundant devices contain photos and videos that could be of great emotional value to the family.

Sour aftertaste from Apple

On top of that, there may well be important information on the device that family or friends need to access. One case recently reported by the Metro, saw a family facing hundreds of pounds in legal fees after Apple refused to unlock a young man’s iPhone after his death.

Apple has very strict rules about unlocking its devices as it takes its security very seriously. The family were told that they would have to provide the death certificate and a solicitor's letter that would set them back £120. After getting this information together the family were told they would need a court order that would set them back further hundreds.

They were told by their solicitor that the court would be unlikely to grant a court order so were left without any further options. Unfortunately, the deceased had left his dying wishes on the phone, so the family were left not knowing how he wished to be buried.

Keeper Security’s new feature means that if the unthinkable happens and you are suddenly disabled, or worse, pass away, the contents of all your devices and accounts carry on working. If you want to take advantage of this feature, you can find Keeper on the Play Store, and the App Store.