After a death, photos and videos often become a family’s most precious possessions. Yet they are scattered across a locked phone, an online account, an old computer and memory cards. Here is how to find them, bring them together and preserve them without losing anything.

Start by deleting nothing

Your first step should be not to reset anything. Do not return the phone to the provider, reset the computer or cancel online storage until the photos have been recovered. Cancellation can lead to files being deleted after a few weeks.

The phone

A locked phone cannot be opened without its passcode, even by the manufacturer. First check whether the code was written down somewhere or a loved one knows it. Otherwise, the photos are often also in the cloud account linked to the phone: that is the best place to look.

The cloud: Google Photos and iCloud

  • Google Photos: if the person enabled Inactive Account Manager, their designated contacts receive a download link. Otherwise, a request can be made to Google with the death certificate, with no guarantee of success.
  • iCloud: if a Legacy Contact was designated, they can request access with their key and the death certificate. Without a Legacy Contact, Apple does not transfer anything.

These requests take time, so start early. We cover them in detail in our article on digital accounts after a death.

Computers, drives and memory cards

Old storage devices often hold years of photos. Connect them to a computer and copy everything into one folder, without sorting it at first. For a damaged drive, a data recovery specialist can often save the most important files.

Sorting and sharing as a family

Once everything is together, sort it with others: each person recognises places, faces and dates that others do not. Name folders by year and event. A shared online folder avoids everyone keeping their own incomplete copy.

Preserving memories for future generations

A digital photo does not age, but the device storing it does. Follow the simple three-copy rule:

  • three copies of the files;
  • on two different types of storage, such as a hard drive and online storage;
  • with one copy outside the home.

Print a selection too: a paper album will still be readable in fifty years, without any device.

What about your own photos?

This experience often prompts people to organise their own memories. Choose the photos and videos that matter now, and say who they are for. With DUNELIA, you bring them together in a private space, with a personal message for each recipient, and they are passed on after human verification, without your loved ones having to take further steps.