How to add or remove a digital representative on your Apple ID

Digital Representative

One of the novelties we have currently available with iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, and macOS 12.1 and later, is that they allow us to add a digital representative to our Apple ID. This may seem silly, it is not at all and is that in case of death without Apple passwords it is impossible to access the devices, nor can Apple itself do anything. This has been the case for a long time and to give us an idea it is the same as in the case that you find an iPhone, Mac or iPad on the street, without the Apple ID password we cannot do anything with the device, it is a nice paperweight.

That is why Apple after many requests from users ends up adding this option of the «Digital Representative» with which the owner of the Mac, iPhone, iPad or any Apple device grants access to someone they trust. This means that you will have access to all the data stored in the Apple account.

The data that is shared is quite important so we must be careful with the person we assign as a digital representative in our Apple ID. This data can include photos, messages, notes, files, downloaded apps, device backups, and much more. The digital representative cannot access some data, these are mostly purchased with the owner's user ID, movies, music, books or subscriptions. In addition to data stored in the Keychain, such as payment information or passwords.

The main requirement is to have the version of iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, macOS 12.1 or later installed on our devices. If we are not in these versions we will not be able to use this new digital representative function. In addition, it requires two-factor authentication activated in the Apple ID and in the case of our country, be over 13 years old. The issue of age may be different depending on the country in which we reside.

Digital Representative Mac Apple

These are the data that your digital representative can access

The data a digital representative can access depends on what the Apple ID account holder has stored in iCloud and in their iCloud backup. For example, if you saved all your photos to a third-party site, those photos are not stored in Apple and will not be in your Apple ID data. For example with Amazon Photos accounts, Google accounts, video streaming services or similar. These are all the data that our digital representative can have access to:

  • ICloud Photos
  • Notes, Mail and Contacts
  • Calendars and reminders
  • Messages in iCloud
  • Call History
  • Files stored in iCloud Drive
  • Health data and voice notes
  • Safari Reading List and Favorites
  • ICloud Backup, which may include apps downloaded from the App Store; photos and videos stored on the device; Device settings and other content that has been backed up to iCloud and not excluded by the following list.

Apple Digital Representative

Data that cannot be accessed by a digital representative

Like this digital representative has access to numerous data of our account, Keep in mind that many others are not available for this digital representative figure.. Among them we find:

  • Licensed content such as movies, music and books purchased by the account holder.
  • In-app purchases such as updates, subscriptions, game money, or other content purchased within an app.
  • Payment information, such as Apple ID payment information or cards saved for use with Apple Pay.
  • Information stored on the account holder's keychain, such as Safari usernames and passwords, internet accounts (used in Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Messages), credit card numbers, and expiration dates and wifi passwords

How to add a digital representative

Digital representative

Now that we know what access we have and we do not have open by adding a digital representative to our Apple ID, let's see how we can add one easily and quickly from our Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. In this case the images are from an iPhone, but the method is valid with any computer entering the Apple ID. The first thing we have to do is access our Apple ID by entering the device Settings.

  1. Click on the option «Password and security» and then «Digital representative»
  2. Once inside we click on "Add digital representative". Request that we authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID or the code of your device if you did not do it before
  3. Now family members appear if we have them in our account. We can choose one or directly click on «Choose another person»
  4. When clicking on choose another person, our contact list opens directly, we choose one and that's it

At this moment an email message arrives directly to our Apple ID account, on the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch it asks us send a text message or print a copy of the key for the representative to accept. From there we already have our representative ready.

If we add someone who does not have an Apple device or cannot access the settings of Digital Representative on your device, it is necessary that we give you a physical copy with the access code. This can be printed directly for the day it needs to be used. It can be sent directly through a PDF or a screenshot of the page, we can also save a copy with the documents of your will.

How to add it from the Mac

The system to add a digital representative from the Mac is similar, if not the same but on the Mac. For this we have to access the System Preferences and then directly to the Apple ID. Once inside we add the password and follow the previous steps but on the Mac.

  • Choose Apple menu> System Preferences and click on "Apple ID"
  • Click on "Password and Security" and then on "Digital Representative"
  • Click on "Add Digital Representative." You may be required to authenticate with Touch ID or your Mac login password

Apple iPhone Digital Representative

To remove a digital representative we have to do this

You can Delete a digital representative at any time from the Apple ID settings and it is not complicated at all. In these cases, there is no need to worry about possible access since the password will change and our device will generate a new one in the event that we need to activate it again.

  1. On the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, go to Settings> username> Password and security
  2. We delete the person directly and we will receive an email with the notification

For Mac:

  1. On the Mac we go directly to the Apple menu> System Preferences, click on Apple ID and select Password and security
  2. As in iOS devices, we remove the Representative directly and that's it

It's really an interesting feature that took too long for many users to arrive. In any case it is already available and its use is important.


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