What Happens to Someone's Social Media Accounts When They Die
When someone dies, their social media accounts don't die with them. Profiles stay visible. Birthday reminders keep appearing. Friends and strangers can still send messages into a void that will never reply. For the people left behind, encountering a loved one's frozen digital presence can be painful, confusing, and sometimes urgent to resolve.
The good news is that most major platforms now have policies for handling accounts after death. The bad news is that every single one does it differently, and the processes aren't always easy to find or follow.
This is a complete guide to what each major platform offers, what you'll need, and what you can do right now to make things easier for your own family.
Facebook was one of the first platforms to introduce formal memorialization, and its system remains the most developed.
Memorialization: Anyone, whether a friend, family member, or coworker, can request that a deceased person's Facebook account be memorialized. Once memorialized, the word "Remembering" appears above the person's name on their profile. The account is locked from login, which prevents unauthorized access. All existing content remains visible to the audience it was originally shared with, but the profile will no longer appear in birthday reminders, "People You May Know" suggestions, or ads.
Legacy Contact: Facebook allows users to designate a Legacy Contact in advance. This is someone who can manage limited aspects of a memorialized account after the account holder dies. A Legacy Contact can write a pinned post on the profile (such as funeral details or a tribute), respond to new friend requests, and update the profile picture and cover photo. They cannot read private messages, remove existing content, or log into the account.
To set up a Legacy Contact, go to Settings > Accounts Center > Personal Details > Account Ownership and Control > Memorialization.
Deletion: If the family prefers, an immediate family member or executor can request that the account be permanently deleted instead. This requires documentation including a death certificate and proof of your relationship or legal authority. All content, messages, photos, and posts will be permanently removed.
What you'll need: To memorialize an account, you'll need the deceased's full name as it appears on Facebook and proof of death (obituary, death certificate, or memorial card). To delete an account, you'll also need proof that you are an immediate family member or legal representative.
Instagram is owned by Meta and follows a similar approach to Facebook, though with some important differences.
Memorialization: Friends or family can request memorialization by submitting a form through Instagram's Help Center. Memorialized accounts display "Remembering" next to the username. All existing posts, photos, and videos remain visible to their original audience. The account cannot be logged into, and no new content can be posted. Memorialized accounts are removed from public spaces including the Explore page and search suggestions.
No Legacy Contact: Unlike Facebook, Instagram does not currently offer a Legacy Contact feature. Once an account is memorialized, nobody can manage it. This is a significant limitation, and it means there is no way to pin a tribute, update a profile photo, or respond to follower requests.
Deletion: Verified immediate family members can request permanent removal of a deceased person's Instagram account. You'll need to provide a birth or death certificate for the deceased person, along with documentation showing you are an immediate family member or estate representative.
What you'll need: For memorialization, the deceased's full name, Instagram handle, and proof of death (death certificate, obituary, or news article). For deletion, additional proof of family relationship or legal authority.
TikTok
TikTok's approach to deceased users is notably less developed than Meta's platforms.
No memorialization (currently): As of early 2025, TikTok does not offer a formal memorialization feature. However, data miners have discovered code suggesting that a "Memorialized Account" feature is in development, which would add a "Remembering" label and lock the account from further use. This has not yet been publicly launched.
Deletion only: The current option available to families is to request account deletion. Immediate family members can contact TikTok's support team to request removal of a deceased user's account. You will need to provide the deceased's TikTok username or profile URL, proof of death, your relationship to the deceased, and your contact information. Once deleted, all videos, comments, likes, and profile information are permanently removed from the platform and cannot be recovered.
Important: Before requesting deletion, if you have login access to the account, consider downloading any videos you want to preserve. You can save individual videos from within the app, or use TikTok's data download feature in Privacy Settings. Once the account is deleted, the content is gone permanently.
What you'll need: The deceased's TikTok username or profile URL, a death certificate or similar proof of death, proof of your relationship, and your contact details.
Google (Gmail, YouTube, Google Photos, Google Drive)
Google controls a vast ecosystem of services, and a single Google account may hold someone's email, photos, videos, documents, and YouTube channel. Google takes a privacy-first approach, which means accessing a deceased person's data can be difficult.
Inactive Account Manager: Google's pre-planning tool is called Inactive Account Manager. It allows account holders to decide what happens to their data after a specified period of inactivity (ranging from 3 to 18 months). Users can designate up to 10 trusted contacts to receive specific data, write personalized messages for each contact, and choose whether the account should be deleted after the inactivity period.
When the inactivity period is reached, Google attempts to contact the account holder by email and text. If there is no response within two months, Google marks the account as inactive and carries out the user's instructions.
To set this up, visit myaccount.google.com/inactive.
Without Inactive Account Manager: If the deceased never set up Inactive Account Manager, the process is significantly harder. Immediate family members or legal representatives can submit a request to Google to close the account or, in certain circumstances, obtain content from it. Google requires the deceased's full name and email address, a death certificate, your government-issued ID, and documentation of your relationship. Google will not provide passwords or login details under any circumstances. Any decision to share content is made after careful review, and there is no guarantee of access.
Account deletion policy: Google will delete accounts that have been inactive for two years. This policy began enforcement in December 2023. If nobody takes action, a deceased person's Gmail, photos, and documents could eventually be deleted automatically.
What you'll need: For Inactive Account Manager setup, just a Google account and a few minutes. For requesting access or closure of a deceased person's account, their full name, email address, your ID, a death certificate, and proof of your legal authority.
Apple (iCloud, Photos, Messages, Notes)
Apple introduced its Digital Legacy program with iOS 15.2 in late 2021, making it relatively straightforward for users who plan ahead.
Legacy Contact: Apple allows account holders to designate up to five Legacy Contacts. These are people who will be able to access the account holder's iCloud data after their death. When you add a Legacy Contact, Apple generates a unique access key that the contact must store safely. To access the account after death, the Legacy Contact needs both this access key and a copy of the death certificate.
Once access is approved, the Legacy Contact receives a special Apple Account and can access photos, messages, notes, files, emails, contacts, calendars, and device backups. Access is granted for three years from the date of approval, after which Apple permanently deletes the account.
What Legacy Contacts cannot access: Payment information, subscriptions, licensed media (purchased music, movies, books), and anything stored in Apple's Keychain (saved passwords, Wi-Fi credentials, credit card details).
To set up a Legacy Contact on iPhone, go to Settings > [Your Name] > Sign-In & Security > Legacy Contact.
Without a Legacy Contact: If no Legacy Contact was designated, gaining access to a deceased person's Apple account is considerably more difficult and may require legal proceedings. Apple can work with families to close accounts, but accessing the actual data typically requires a court order. You can submit a request at digital-legacy.apple.com.
What you'll need: For Legacy Contact setup, an Apple device running iOS 15.2 or later. For requesting access as a Legacy Contact, the access key and a death certificate. Without Legacy Contact status, a court order or equivalent legal documentation.
LinkedIn introduced memorialization in 2021, though with less visibility than other platforms.
Memorialization: If someone reports a LinkedIn member as deceased, LinkedIn will memorialize the profile. Memorialized accounts display "In Remembrance" beneath the member's name. The profile remains visible so that connections and coworkers can still view it, but all access to the account is locked. LinkedIn cancels any premium subscriptions and terminates connections to third-party services. Mobile and desktop sessions expire immediately.
Account closure: If you are authorized to act on behalf of the deceased (as an executor or immediate family member), you can request that the account be permanently closed and removed from LinkedIn. This requires a death certificate and a legal document showing your authority (such as letters testamentary or a power of attorney).
Reporting without authority: If you are not a legal representative but know that a member has died, you can report them as deceased. LinkedIn will hide the account from search results and may memorialize it. You do not need legal documents for this, but the options available to you are more limited.
No inactive account policy: Unlike Google, LinkedIn does not appear to have a policy for deleting inactive accounts. An unmanaged account could remain visible indefinitely.
What you'll need: For memorialization, the deceased's name, profile URL, and proof of death (obituary or death certificate). For account closure, the same plus a legal document showing your authority.
X (formerly Twitter)
X does not offer a memorialization feature.
Deactivation only: Family members or authorized estate representatives can request that a deceased user's account be deactivated and removed. You'll need to provide the deceased's username, your name, your relationship to the deceased, your contact information, a copy of your ID, the death certificate, and any additional supporting documentation.
X will not share login information or account access with anyone, regardless of relationship. Once deactivated, the account is permanently removed from the platform.
What you'll need: The deceased's X username, a death certificate, your ID, and proof of your relationship or legal authority.
If someone you love has just died
If you're reading this because you've recently lost someone, here is what to do first.
Don't rush. There is no deadline on most of these platforms. Accounts will not be deleted overnight, and nothing bad will happen if you take a few weeks before dealing with them. Focus on yourself and your family first.
Make a list of their accounts. Check their phone, their email, their browser bookmarks. Look at what apps are installed. You don't need passwords for most of the processes described above, but knowing which platforms they used is the essential starting point.
Decide what feels right. Do you want to preserve their profiles as a place people can visit, or would you rather remove them? There is no right answer. Some families find comfort in a memorialized Facebook page where friends still post on birthdays. Others find it painful and prefer a clean removal. Take your time with this decision, and talk to other family members before acting, especially on platforms where the action is permanent.
Gather your documents. Almost every platform will ask for the same things: a death certificate, proof of your relationship (birth certificate, marriage certificate, or legal documentation showing you are the executor), and the deceased's full name and username on the platform. Having these ready will make each request faster.
Work through one platform at a time. Start with whichever feels most urgent or visible. For many people, that's Facebook or Instagram, since those are the profiles friends and family are most likely to encounter. Use the official links in the references section below to submit your requests directly.
Planning ahead for your own accounts
If you're reading this because you want to make things easier for your own family, the single most valuable thing you can do is set up the pre-planning tools that already exist.
Facebook Legacy Contact, Google Inactive Account Manager, and Apple Legacy Contact are all free and take just a few minutes to configure. These three alone cover the vast majority of most people's digital lives.
Tell someone. Setting up these tools is only useful if the people you trust know they exist. Let your Legacy Contacts know you've designated them, and tell them where to find any access keys or instructions.
Make a list of your accounts. You don't need to share passwords (and most platforms' terms of service prohibit this), but a simple list of "I have accounts on these platforms" gives your family a starting point when the time comes.
A note about digital memorials
Social media profiles were never designed to be memorials. They're frozen snapshots of a life, often showing only what someone chose to share publicly. A birthday photo here, a vacation check-in there, but rarely the full picture of who someone was.
If you're looking for a more intentional way to honor someone's memory, a purpose-built digital memorial allows you to gather photos, stories, tributes, and key milestones in one dedicated space, contributed to by everyone who knew them, not just what one platform happened to capture.
References and official resources
The following links are to official help pages and documentation from each platform. Policies can change, so it's worth checking these directly for the most current information.
- Memorialization Request Form: facebook.com/help/contact/234739086860192
- About Memorialized Accounts: facebook.com/help/1506822589577997
- Legacy Contact Settings: facebook.com/help/1070665206293088
- Meta Transparency Center (Memorialization Policy): transparency.meta.com/policies/community-standards/memorialization
- Request Memorialization: help.instagram.com/1401073473505873
- About Memorialized Accounts: help.instagram.com/231764660354188
- Request Removal of Deceased Person's Account: help.instagram.com/264154560391256
TikTok
- Report a Deceased User: Available via Settings > Report a Problem > Account and Profile > Manage Account
- TikTok Privacy Policy: tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy
- Inactive Account Manager Setup: myaccount.google.com/inactive
- About Inactive Account Manager: support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546
- Submit Request for Deceased User's Account: support.google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/6357590
Apple
- Add a Legacy Contact: support.apple.com/en-us/102631
- Request Access as Legacy Contact: digital-legacy.apple.com
- Memorialize or Close a Deceased Member's Account: linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a1336663
X (formerly Twitter)
- Help with a Deceased User's Account: Available via X Help Center > Account Issues > Deceased User
If you're announcing the death online, or responding to the comments and messages that follow, our guide on what to say when someone dies has wording you can adapt for posts, replies and cards.
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