What happens to my photos if something happens to me
Short answer: if photos are truly encrypted, nobody can open them without your key — neither the service nor your family. So handing them on has to be arranged in advance. My Albums has a trusted person for this: they get access to the archive if you don't sign in for the term you chose, and until then nobody can assemble the key. Below: how it works and how others handle it.
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Why this is a question at all
A family archive usually lives in one phone and one account. One person knows the password. When they're gone, the family is left with a locked phone and a service that by law can't hand over someone else's account. The better the photos are protected, the sharper the question: encryption the company can't undo, your daughter can't undo either.
How others handle it
- Apple — “Legacy Contact”: a person named in advance receives an access key and, after death is confirmed (a certificate), gets the iCloud data, photos included.
- Google — “Inactive Account Manager”: if you don't sign in for the term you chose, the people you picked receive the data you specified, Google Photos included.
- A note in a safe — the old honest way: password and recovery code on paper, with a notary or in a safe. Works with any service, but paper gets lost and codes go stale.
- My Albums — a trusted person, details below. The difference from the note: until the term runs out nobody has the key, the trusted person included.
How it works in My Albums
- You pick the person and the term: 3, 6 or 12 months without your sign-in. You send them an invitation link, they accept it in the app.
- The key is split in two halves. One is locked for the trusted person with their own key, the other waits on the server for the term. Separately they're useless: the server can't open your archive, and neither can the trusted person.
- Any sign-in of yours resets the countdown. 30 and 7 days before the term the bot reminds you: opening the app once is enough.
- When the term runs out the trusted person gets a button in the bot and sees the archive for viewing and downloading only: no deleting, no changing. You can come back at any time and close the access.
- We learn nothing new. The server knows only who is whose trusted person and the term. The archive itself remains encrypted bytes to us.
What the trusted person needs
Telegram and My Albums on their phone — nothing else. The key for their half is created on their side at first launch; you don't have to hand over passwords, codes or papers.
How to name a trusted person
- Open @MyAlbumsBot → “Open photos”. In the Gallery tap “⋯” → “Settings” → “Trusted person”.
- Choose the term — 3, 6 or 12 months — and send the invitation link to someone close.
- They open the link and accept the invitation in the app. The bot lets you know.
- At your next sign-in the app seals the envelope with the key — done. Then just live your life: any sign-in to My Albums resets the countdown.
Keep your recovery code anyway: the trusted person is for when you're gone, the code is for when the phone is lost.
FAQ
Can the trusted person open the photos before the term?
No. They hold only half of the key; the other half sits on the server and is released only after the term passes without your sign-in. Separately the halves are useless.
Can the server?
No. The server holds the second half, and the first is locked with the trusted person's key, which we don't have. That's the point of the “two of two” scheme.
What if I just didn't sign in for a long time — travelling, in hospital?
30 and 7 days before the term the bot messages you. One sign-in and the countdown starts over. If access did open, you can come back and close it: Settings → Trusted person → Close access.
Can I change my mind or pick someone else?
Yes, at any time: cancel the trusted person in settings and name another. The old half of the key stops working.
What does the trusted person get?
Your whole archive — albums, captions, people — for viewing and downloading only. They can't delete, add or change anything. Secret albums stay under their own passwords.
The archive goes to
whom you decided.
A trusted person gets the photos if you're gone for long, and until then nobody has the key. 5 GB free, no time limit.
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