Published on CTV News
By Natalie Johnson, March 15th, 2023
In funeral homes across Toronto, there’s a growing dilemma facing staff
The digital remnants of a deceased person’s life are trapped behind the lock screen of the phone they left behind, and a fingerprint or face scan is the family’s last hope for access before the body is buried.
One funeral director told CTV News Toronto he receives a few requests a month from executors trying to retrieve camera roll photos, access digital documents, and more.
Passcodes, in many cases, were never communicated to the people managing the estate, and whether it is to salvage family photos or disarm the security system of the home they now need to access, executors are hoping to break in with biometrics.
It is of tremendous importance for families to be able to access this, somehow. But digital access after death isn’t always possible.
The frequency is certainly increasing… The last resort for a family member often is [to] go to the funeral home, get an image of the body, and then gain access to the systems. It’s a grisly problem. The sophistication of the biometrics system is also a factor. [FaceID] requires proof that the individual who is being recorded, in the photo, is in fact a very live person. For example, Apple has incorporated technology to prevent people from taking pictures of dead bodies and gaining access to a system.
Carmi Levy, Technology Analyst
