How to Set Up Microsoft OneDrive Digital Legacy

Microsoft's Digital Legacy feature is narrower than Apple's or Google's — it covers OneDrive specifically, not your whole Microsoft account — but it's arguably the most important one to set up in advance, because the alternative is genuinely difficult.

How to set it up

Sign in at onedrive.com, go to Settings, then Digital legacy.
Invite one trusted contact by entering their email address. Only one contact can be designated at a time.
Once they accept the invitation, give them the access code OneDrive generates for you. This code doesn't expire — it's safe to store with a will or other estate documents.

What your contact does when the time comes

Your contact enters the code you gave them, then waits 72 hours. After that, they get read-only access to your OneDrive files — they can view and download them, though anything they download can then be edited or modified on their own end, since it's no longer read-only once it leaves OneDrive.

What this does NOT cover

OneDrive files only. It does not give access to Outlook mail or any other part of your Microsoft account. Your contact also needs their own Microsoft account to receive the invitation and access.

Why setting this up in advance matters so much here

Without Digital Legacy configured ahead of time, next of kin generally need to provide a death certificate and documentation proving their relationship to you — and in most jurisdictions, Microsoft states it will not release account contents without a subpoena or court order. That's a real legal process, not a support ticket, and it's the sharpest contrast between Microsoft's proactive and reactive paths of any platform covered in this cluster.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I name more than one Digital Legacy contact?

No — OneDrive Digital Legacy supports only one designated contact at a time.

Does the 72-hour wait apply every time, or just once?

It applies when your contact enters the access code to activate access — check Microsoft's current OneDrive support documentation for the specifics, since this kind of detail can change.

What if I use Outlook or other Microsoft services more than OneDrive?

Digital Legacy won't help with those — see the related guide on digital assets after death for what the fallback process for the rest of a Microsoft account looks like without an advance designation.