iCloud backups on iPhoneSource: Joseph Keller/iMore

What you need to know

  • A court in Europe has ordered Apple to give relatives of a deceased person access to their iCloud data.
  • The case was heard in Dornbirn, Austria.
  • Apple has complied with the judgment and agreed to reset the deceased person's password.

A court in Austria has ruled that Apple must provide a relative with access to the iCloud account of a deceased person.

According to reports, Apple was sued in Dornbirn District court. Attorney Stefan Denifl appealed to a ruling from the German Federal Court of Justice, which stated that personal internet content was to be considered part of a person's inheritance. According to Kleine Zeitung

According to a final judgment by the district court in Dornbirn, Apple has to provide an heiress with the access data for a deceased person's user account and iCloud. Attorney Stefan Denifl, who brought the lawsuit, sees it as a precedent in a mailing that could help other Austrian heirs to access Apple products and thus memorabilia.

Apple has reportedly acknowledged the judgment of the court and has agreed to reset the password of the deceased so that the information can be accessed by relatives. According to the report:

Apple, which has its European headquarters in Ireland, has acknowledged the judgment of the Dornbirn district court, according to the press release, and has agreed to reset the heir's password so that it has full access to the user account and iCloud. In the run-up to the lawsuit, several applications were unsuccessful, Denifl reported. The judgment "now also gives other Austrian heirs the opportunity to obtain Apple products from a deceased person through the court. In concrete terms, this also means receiving personal memorabilia that are part of the emotional processing of a death," says the lawyer.