Prep Your Digital Afterlife 

This is not a happy topic. But it’s essential advice, if you’re 30 or 90.

If something happened to you tomorrow, could your family get into your digital life? I’m talking about your bank accounts, emails, crypto and a lifetime of memories stored on your phone or computer.

Big Tech and other companies won’t hand over your data or passwords, even to a spouse, without a hassle, if at all.

The 10-Minute Setup

Start with a Legacy Contact. Think of someone you trust who gets access only after you’re gone. Who is that? Good.

Phone: Open Settings > tap (Your Name). Tap Sign-in & Security > Legacy Contact. Go to Add Legacy Contact and follow the prompts.

Google: Search for Inactive Account Manager in your Google Account settings. Choose how long Google should wait before acting (eg., three months). Add up to 10 People to be notified, and choose which data (Photos, Drive, Gmail) they can download.

The Master Key Problem

Apple and Google don’t help with banking, insurance, investment or other sites or apps. You need a solid password manager that offers emergency access features.

Open your Password Manager and look for Emergency Access.

Add a Digital Heir: Enter the email of a spouse or trusted child.

Set the Safety Delay: Choose a wait period, usually 7 days is the sweet spot.

How it works: If your contact ever requests access, the app sends you an alert. If you’re fine, you hit Deny. But if you’re incapacitated and can’t respond within those 7 days, the vault automatically unlocks for them.

Pro Tip: Your Emergency Contact only gets viewing privileges. They can’t delete or change anything in your vault. 

If you need a password manager, Kim Komando uses and recommends the password manager NordPass.

-The above is from a Kim Komando daily newsletter to which I subscribe to keep up with the latest topics on computers, trends and security. -Max