Apple have a very good reputation where security is concerned but one family from London think their security measures are far too rigid.
Anthea Grant’s will said she wanted her estate to be divided between her five sons, included in her estate was an iPad she had bought when she was diagnosed with cancer, mainly to keep in touch with her boys. After her death they discovered that the iPad was locked but they did not have her Apple ID and password so they contacted Apple, unfortunately Apple insisted that written consent would be required giving them permission to unlock the device, even though they had explained that this was impossible since their mother had died. One of her five sons, Josh Grant, said “We obviously couldn’t get written permission because mum had died. So my brother has been back and forth with Apple, they’re asking for some kind of proof that he can have the iPad.” The bereaved family have provided Apple with copies of legal documents and a letter from a solicitor to prove their case but Apple still insisted it was not enough and asked for a court order, the family felt this was unfair as it would have cost more than the device was actually worth.
Apple says that it leads the industry in security and protecting customer details, activation locks were in place to deter against theft and to protect against access to online iCloud accounts via stolen or lost devices. Mr Grant said he was a big fan of the technology giant but that he thought that “it’s a bit cold of them not to treat things on a case by case basis”
Apple has since agreed to restore the factory settings of the iPad after acknowledging that it may not have fully understood what the family required, however the company will not allow access to the iCloud account, insisting that a court order would still be needed for this.
Global opinions on Apple’s stance in this matter have been divided but most seem to feel that they have been rather over-bureaucratic and inflexible, particularly as the family provided the will, death certificate and a letter from their solicitor. Yes, security is extremely important and not something to treat lightly but Apple could have been much more helpful to this family during their time of bereavement, a little compassion certainly wouldn’t have hurt in this case.
MSeth Technology 