Need to access iPhone but don’t know password

Blackavar

The son of a friend has sadly passed away and my friend would like to advise his contacts of this.
Unfortunately his phone is password protected and the only options he can find involve wiping the data which would render the exercise pointless.
Any advice on this gratefully passed on.

[Deleted User]

Sorry to hear of the circumstances, there isn't a way of accessing an iPhone unless you know the passcode or password. I can see how this is becoming more of an issue in a digital world, in days gone people would have a little book of phone numbers.

In fairness to the deceased person, I think it is right that the contents of their phone remains private, I would not want any of my relatives having access to all the information in my phone / computer if I was to pass away, that is private and should remain as such and the person who has passed away may also not want all their private information being accessed so I think their privacy should be respected after death.

Are there any alternatives to spread the word - for example did the deceased person have a social media presence, maybe it could be announced on there, only a few would need to see it to start spreading the word that might reach all contacts that know them?