Death and the internet

When someone dies their digital accounts including emails and social media, remain active. Here’s how to manage their digital legacy for certain accounts.

Facebook posts and Instagram photos

Both are owned by Meta and have the same options: you can either remove or memorialise their profile. Memorialising preserves a person’s shared posts and pictures, allowing friends and families to gather and share memories. The word ‘remembering’ is shown next to their name and no one will be able to log into the account - keeping it safe from potential hackers.

To let these platforms know someone has died, you'll need to provide proof of death and also prove your authority to act by sending them official documents - such as the deceased’s last will, or their birth certificate for those under 18. Instructions as to what's required can be found via both platforms online help centres.

X (formerly Twitter)

You can’t memorialise X accounts but if you want to deactivate a deceased’s account you can submit a request via their help centre. You'll be sent an email with instructions to provide more information, including proof of your identification and the deceased’s death certificate.  

Emails

Unless you have the email login you won’t be able to access and shut down the account yourself. However, most email service providers, such as Google, Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo, will delete accounts automatically after a long period of inactivity.

Google advised that in ‘certain circumstances’ it might provide content from a deceased user’s account. It also allows users to set up a plan for their own digital legacy, deciding how long their account would have to be inactive for before a selected list of contacts are alerted and the account is shut down.

Apple

You can add a legacy contact for your Apple ID and this is the easiest, most secure way to give someone you trust access to the data stored in your Apple account after your death. You can designate more than one legacy contact.

The data may include photos, messages, notes, files, apps you’ve downloaded, device backups, and more. Certain information, such as films, music, books or subscriptions you have purchased with your Apple ID, and data stored in your Keychain, such as password information, cannot be access by your legacy contact.

To file an access request for someone who has died, you will need the access key that is generated when you’re chosen as a contact and the death certificate. When access has been approved, you will receive a special Apple ID to access the account. The Apple ID and password will no longer work. You then have three years from when the special Apple ID was set up to access the account, after that the account will be permanently deleted. If there is more than one contact, any of these contacts can individually make decisions about the deceased’s account data after the death, including permanently deleting it.

Guidance on how to add a legacy contact to your account can be found on their website.

Amazon

Their website provides further guidance on how to deal with the deceased’s account. If you have access to the email address associated with their account, you can sign in to proceed with your request. If you don't have access to the account, verification is required to make sure you are authorised to act on behalf of the deceased.

Please know that closing the account is a permanent action. They advise you to read the important information regarding the closure of an Amazon account on their website before proceeding with the request. Once the account is closed, all of the products and services accessed through that account will no longer be available across any Amazon sites globally. These products and services include any content such as photos, music, Prime, and books that will also be deleted.

Making a digital will

A digital will is an inventory of your digital property - for example, social media accounts and emails, with instructions on how to access that property. It's an informal, non-legally binding document, but can explain your wishes to your next of kin and provide guidance on what to do with your accounts.

Things to bear in mind

• A digital register – create a secure list of all of the digital accounts, logins and passwords collected over a lifetime. This should include all email addresses and social media accounts.
• Instructions – include information about what to do with your accounts, for example deleting or memorialising.
• Next of kin – online data can be very personal, so take care when choosing who has access to this list. Include your next of kin’s contact information so they can execute your wishes.
• Refer to your digital will in your last will and testament, but do not include full details, especially any passwords.

This publication is intended for general guidance and represents our understanding of the relevant law and practice as at July 2024. Specific advice should be sought for specific cases. For more information see our terms & conditions.