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Photos: Usually Inside Google or Apple, Sometimes Their Own Account

Platform claims verified July 22, 2026

The short version

For most people, “the photos” are not a separate account at all: they live inside Google Photos or Apple’s iCloud Photos. If that is you, you don’t need this card — cover your Google and Apple accounts instead, and the photos come with them. Add a dedicated photos card only when your library lives somewhere of its own (a standalone service, an external drive, or a NAS), or when you want to leave specific instructions about where the pictures are and who should get them.

If your photos live in Google or Apple

Delete this card and make sure your Google and Apple cards are set up. Both have real legacy tools that hand access to people you name:

  • Google Photos travels with your Google account. Set up Google’s Inactive Account Manager so chosen people can download your data after your account goes quiet.
  • Apple / iCloud Photos travels with your Apple account. Add a Legacy Contact; they receive an access key that unlocks your photos and other iCloud data.

The photos are then covered by those cards, with nothing extra to store here.

If your photos live on their own

Some libraries are not inside Google or Apple — a standalone photo service, an external hard drive, a home NAS, or a stack of memory cards in a drawer. For those:

  1. Say where they are. In the instructions on this card, write plainly where the library lives (“2 TB drive in the office closet”, “Synology NAS, photos share”, “Flickr Pro account”).
  2. Leave the way in. If it needs a login or a drive password, keep that credential in your vault (mark this card “I’ll leave the secret in my vault”) so your circle can reach it. If it is an unencrypted drive, just knowing where it is may be enough.
  3. Name who should get them. Photos are often the thing families most want and most struggle to find. A one-line note about who should receive which albums saves your executor a guessing game.

What your executor should do

  • If the photos are inside Google or Apple, follow those cards’ legacy tools.
  • Otherwise, go to the location noted here, use the credential from the vault if one is listed, and copy the library somewhere safe before anything is wiped, returned, or sold (a phone, a laptop, an old drive).
  • Photos rarely have a deadline, but devices get erased and accounts lapse. Securing a copy early is the safe move.