Managing a deceased person's social media¶

Social-media accounts do not close themselves when the holder dies. Without action they sit live and active, surfacing in birthday reminders, "people you may know" suggestions, and search results, sometimes for years. For people who are grieving the reminders can be painful; for the executor administering the estate they are loose ends.

This guide is a practical reference for the major platforms used in the UK — what they let you do, the documentation each one wants, and how long it usually takes. It complements the broader Digital legacy guide, which covers email, cloud storage, devices, and cryptocurrency. The companion guide also explains the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 framework that now sits under requests to all of these platforms.

If you can only do one thing today: take screenshots of any photos, posts, or messages the family would want to keep, before asking any platform to memorialise or remove the account. Most platforms do not provide content downloads to family without specific advance planning, and once an account is closed the content is gone.

Before contacting any platform¶

Three things to do first:

1. Screenshot what matters. No platform reliably gives family members access to archived content once an account is memorialised or deleted. Photos, captions, comments, friends list, recommendations, employment history — if any of it might matter, capture it now while access (via the deceased's unlocked device, the legacy contact route, or the platform's standard interface) is still available.

2. Talk to the family first. Memorialisation and deletion produce different emotional outcomes. One sibling may find a memorialised profile comforting; another may find the recurring notifications painful. The decision is irreversible (deletion permanently, memorialisation almost so) and benefits from an explicit family conversation.

3. Check for digital-legacy planning. Apple, Google, and Meta all let users nominate a legacy contact in advance. Where one exists the route is much faster and gives the contact more power than the standard bereavement process. Look in the deceased's account settings (with care; see the legal section below) or ask family members whether they were nominated.

The legal position in three sentences¶

Logging in carries real risk. Using the deceased's password to access their accounts may amount to unauthorised access under the Computer Misuse Act 1990, which applies across the UK. Prosecutions in this context are rare, but the Act covers unauthorised access regardless of motive — and a dispute among family members or an allegation of mishandling can make the question relevant. The safer route in nearly every case is the platform's official bereavement process. [source: legislation-gov-uk/computer-misuse-act-1990-2026-05-02.html]

UK GDPR does not apply to deceased people. The UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 cover only living individuals. Once a person dies, their personal data has no formal data-protection rights. This means platforms are neither required nor prevented from giving family access; each platform sets its own policy. [source: ico/deceased-persons-2026-05-02.html]

Wills can include digital instructions. The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 (December 2025; England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) recognises certain digital assets as personal property of the estate. The Act does not force platforms to disclose passwords or release accounts, but it puts written instructions in a will on a clearer legal footing.

Facebook and Instagram (Meta)¶

Facebook — memorialise¶

Adds a "Remembering" label before the person's name. The profile remains visible; nobody can log in. Adverts no longer appear on the profile. The profile is not surfaced in "People You May Know." A pre-arranged Legacy Contact can manage limited aspects (pin a tribute post, respond to friend requests, update the profile photo) but cannot read private messages or remove old posts. [source: meta/memorialised-accounts-2026-05-02.html]

To request memorialisation: the Special Request for a Memorialised Account form on Facebook's Help Centre. Required: the deceased's name, the requester's relationship, and proof of death (death certificate, obituary, or memorial card).

Facebook — remove¶

Verified immediate family or an executor can request permanent deletion via the Special Request for a Deceased Person's Account form. Required: proof of relationship (and, for executors, documentation of legal authority over the estate) plus a death certificate. Deletion is permanent and irreversible — all photos, posts, and messages are removed.

Typical turnaround: 1 to 2 weeks for both memorialisation and removal. [source: meta/memorialised-accounts-2026-05-02.html]

Instagram¶

Handled via Instagram's own Help Centre, separate from Facebook even though both are part of Meta. Both memorialisation and removal options are available; both require proof of death and confirmation of relationship; for removal, Meta may ask for additional documentation including evidence under local law that the requester is the lawful representative of the estate.

X (formerly Twitter)¶

Removal only — no memorialisation option. Submit through X's Help Centre; X follows up by email asking for the requester's identification and a copy of the death certificate. The account is closed and the content removed.

LinkedIn¶

Two routes depending on the requester's relationship to the deceased:

Anyone can report a member as deceased through the Help Centre. LinkedIn memorialises the profile — locked so nobody can log in, the password is not disclosed, the profile remains visible. Useful for distant connections or colleagues.

Authorised representatives (immediate family or those with legal authority over the estate, typically the executor) can request the account be closed entirely. Once closed, LinkedIn's published guidance is that full deletion of the data takes up to 30 days.

Required: the deceased's name, profile URL, requester's relationship, and confirmation of the death.

If employment history or recommendations matter for probate or for family records, screenshot before requesting closure — LinkedIn does not provide data downloads to family members.

TikTok¶

A bereavement reporting route exists through TikTok's Support centre — select the option relating to a deceased user, provide the username, the requester's relationship, and evidence of death. TikTok's published policy covers removal and may include a memorialisation option with a "Remembering" label similar to Facebook. The detail varies as TikTok updates its policies; check the live Help Centre before submitting.

YouTube and Google accounts¶

YouTube is part of Google; closing a YouTube channel almost always means dealing with the broader Google account that also covers Gmail, Drive, Photos, and any other Google services the deceased used.

With Inactive Account Manager set up in advance: Google automatically shares data with the named trusted contacts (or deletes the account) after the inactivity period the user chose, between 3 and 18 months. [source: google/inactive-account-manager-2026-05-02.html]

Without prior planning: the family can submit a request via the Deceased User's Account page in Google's Help Centre. Required: the deceased's Gmail address, the requester's name and country, the requester's relationship, and supporting documentation (typically a death certificate and government ID). Each request is reviewed individually by a dedicated team. Google may provide a download of certain data on a case-by-case basis or may simply close the account; passwords are never disclosed.

YouTube channels with subscribers, views, or income are a separate financial consideration — see the dedicated discussion in Digital legacy.

Apple ID and iCloud¶

Apple takes the strictest approach of the major platforms: accounts are non-transferable and Apple does not disclose passwords or provide direct device or account access to family, even with documentation.

With a Digital Legacy contact set up in advance: the Legacy Contact uses their access key plus a death certificate to request a download of the iCloud data — photos, notes, messages stored in iCloud, files. Purchased content (music, apps, books) and on-device data not in iCloud are not included. The Apple ID is then closed. [source: apple/digital-legacy-2026-05-02.html]

Without a Digital Legacy contact: Apple may consider requests from verified family members; requirements vary by region and typically include a death certificate plus, in many cases, a court order confirming entitlement to access the account. Under the 2025 Act the request can be framed as a property claim of the estate, which strengthens the application.

Locked devices cannot be unlocked by Apple without erasing them entirely. If the device was backed up to iCloud and the family has Digital Legacy access, the data may be recoverable through that route. Specialist forensic-recovery firms operate in this space but success and cost vary widely.

Snapchat¶

Snapchat's published deletion process requires logging into the account at accounts.snapchat.com and using the "Delete My Account" option — only available from a verified email associated with the account, which generally rules out a third-party request from family. Snapchat does not currently publish a bereavement-specific removal route for family members. The practical approach in most cases is to leave the account inactive — Snapchat messages are typically deleted automatically after they are opened or after a set period, limiting the visible content.

WhatsApp¶

WhatsApp does not allow third-party account access, including by family. Account deletion must be done from within the WhatsApp app on the primary device, which means an unlocked phone with WhatsApp still active is required. If that is available, the account can be deleted from within the app. If not, no published bereavement process allows remote closure.

WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted but may be backed up to iCloud or Google Drive depending on the user's settings; recoverable content may be greater than expected if those backups are accessible through the relevant cloud-account bereavement process.

Pinterest¶

Pinterest does not currently publish a clear bereavement-specific removal route for family members. Standard account deletion requires being logged in. To act on a Pinterest account, contact Pinterest's support team directly and explain the circumstances; the response varies case by case.

Where to start when the platforms are unknown¶

If the deceased's social-media presence is not fully known:

Email inbox (where accessible via a legacy contact or specific data request) — registration confirmations from each platform almost always sit somewhere in the inbox.
Phone home screen and app library — installed apps reveal active accounts.
Saved passwords in the browser — Chrome, Safari, Edge often hold a list, accessible through the password manager built into the browser.
Physical notebooks or printed lists — surprisingly common for people who distrust password managers.

Compiling a single list of platforms before contacting each separately is materially more efficient than discovering them one at a time over weeks.

Planning ahead — what to do now for your own accounts¶

Three actions take roughly half an hour combined and remove most of the friction from the family's later work:

Apple Legacy Contact: Settings → [Your Name] → Sign-In & Security → Legacy Contact. Generate the access key.
Google Inactive Account Manager: myaccount.google.com → Data and Privacy → Make a plan for your digital legacy. Configure the inactivity period and trusted contacts.
Meta (Facebook) Legacy Contact: Settings → Memorialisation Settings. Choose the legacy contact for the memorialised profile.

Plus a list of accounts kept with the will (without passwords, which often violates platform terms of service) so the executor knows what exists and where. The letter of wishes is a natural place for the list to live.

Key points¶

Social-media accounts do not close automatically.
Do not log in with the deceased's password — use the platform's official bereavement route instead.
Most platforms offer either memorialisation (locks the profile) or removal (permanently deletes everything); some offer only one of these.
Take screenshots of anything the family wants to keep before submitting any request.
A legacy contact set up in advance gives the family materially more control with much less paperwork than the standard route.

What this guide doesn't cover¶

The broader digital estate — devices, cloud storage, cryptocurrency, intellectual property, monetised channels — covered in Digital legacy.
Email accounts in detail — the email inbox is usually the keystone of the digital estate; see the Google and Apple sections above for the major providers.
Probate and estate administration — see How to apply for probate and the broader estate planning checklist.
Forensic data recovery from damaged devices — specialist territory; outside the scope of this guide.

If you're struggling, you don't have to do this alone. Samaritans (116 123, 24/7) | Cruse Bereavement Care (0808 808 1677) | Mind (0300 123 3393)

Next: Estate planning checklist

Last verified: 2 May 2026 against the published bereavement guidance of Apple, Google, and Meta and the relevant statutory framework.