A man who lost his wife suddenly is in a battle to access valuable pictures of their wedding from her phone before her funeral. Martyn Hall, aged 64, cannot unlock his late wife Lynn’s iPhone as he doesn’t know the password and Apple’s privacy policy means the contents would be eradicated if the passcode was reset. Apple states that privacy is a fundamental human right.
Hall expressed his frustration on the BBC Radio 4 show You and Yours, as he had no troubles with other companies and organisations that Lynn had an account with after her unexpected death, apart from her phone. He revealed that the device contains pictures of memories like their wedding and holidays that he wants to use during her funeral and the music Lynn, a devout Christian, was passionate about. He said that he feels like he is hitting an absolute brick wall and can’t fill the big hole inside him caused by the data stored on that phone.
Although Apple provides options for deceased customers’ accounts, including providing access to or deleting their Apple ID and data associated with it, Hall found it challenging to contact the corporation. He wants to notify people of this issue and was approached by Apple’s customer relations team, who informed him that Lynn’s Apple subscriptions would be terminated.
While there is no right to someone’s data after their death, Which? Campaign group recommends taking steps like sharing login details using a password manager tool, storing pictures on a USB drive, and using a joint-access cloud service to make it easier for loved ones to access digital assets like pictures and online accounts after their demise
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