As the world becomes increasingly reliant on technology, one thing tech companies have begun to consider is what happens to your data once you die.

Apple this week announced a digital legacy service. It will allow users to nominate one person who can access their data when they die.

But what exactly do services like this cover, and why have they become a necessity? 

Professor Elaine Kasket, author of ‘All the Ghosts in the Machine', is an expert on death in the digital era. She told Francesca Rudkin this is a significant announcement as Apple makes so many of our devices.

She says that many people think that being a parent, child or spouse would allow them to access devices.

"It's often been a nasty surprise for people around the world when it turns out that hasn't been the case."

Screenshots showed so far suggest that the service will allow people to see photos and emails - and that opens up legal questions. 

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