How to Handle Social Media Accounts After a Death

17 Jun 26
F.W. Spilsbury

When someone we love passes away, the world does not stop – and neither, in many ways, does their digital presence. Their Facebook profile may still show memories on your feed. Their Instagram account may still appear in searches. Friends who haven’t yet heard the news may leave comments or messages that go unanswered.

It is something that previous generations never had to navigate, and for many families, it can catch them off guard at an already tender time. Knowing what your options are, and how to approach these accounts calmly and in your own time, can make a difficult task feel a little more manageable.

At F.W. Spilsbury, we care about supporting families through every aspect of bereavement – including the parts that feel unfamiliar. This guide is designed to give you a clear and compassionate overview of how to handle social media accounts after a death, covering the most widely used platforms and what you can expect from each.

There Is No Rush

Before anything else, we want to say this: there is no urgency here. Social media accounts will not disappear on their own, and you are under no obligation to act immediately or within any particular timeframe. Many families find it helpful to leave accounts untouched in the days immediately following a death, especially if friends and family are still finding out the news and leaving messages of condolence.

In fact, for some people, being able to revisit a loved one’s profile – their photographs, their posts, their words – is a source of real comfort in the early weeks of grief. There is no right or wrong approach. What matters is what feels right for you and your family.

What Are Your Options?

When the time feels right, most families choose one of three approaches for each account:

Leave the account as it is, at least for now.
Request that the platform memorialise the account, preserving it as a place of remembrance.
Request that the account be permanently closed and removed.

The right choice will depend on your family’s wishes, the platform in question, and sometimes the specific privacy settings your loved one had in place. Let’s look at the main platforms individually.

Facebook

Facebook offers two options for accounts belonging to someone who has passed away: memorialisation or removal.

Memorialising a Facebook Account

A memorialised account is a space where friends and family can continue to share memories. The word “Remembering” appears next to the person’s name, and the account is handled differently to a standard profile – for example, it will no longer appear in birthday reminders or “People You May Know” suggestions, which can spare people an unexpected and painful reminder.

To request memorialisation, you will need to complete a form on Facebook’s website. You do not need to provide a death certificate, but Facebook may ask for evidence such as a news obituary or other public documentation.

If your loved one had appointed a Legacy Contact – someone they designated in advance to manage their account after death – that person will have limited ability to manage the memorialised profile, including writing a pinned post and responding to new friend requests.

Removing a Facebook Account

If your family would prefer the account to be permanently removed, Facebook allows an immediate family member or executor to submit a removal request. You will need to provide proof of your relationship to the deceased and, in some cases, documentation confirming the death such as a death certificate.

This process can take some time, and Facebook may ask for additional information, but it is a well-established procedure and their support team is familiar with handling these requests sensitively.

Instagram

Instagram, which is owned by Meta (the same company as Facebook), follows a very similar process. You can request that an account be memorialised or permanently removed.

To memorialise an Instagram account, you will need to submit a request through Instagram’s dedicated form, providing the person’s username and proof of death. Once memorialised, the account will remain visible but no one will be able to log into it or make changes to it.

To request removal, you will need to provide proof of your relationship to the deceased, along with documentation of the death. As with Facebook, the process is managed sensitively and family members are not expected to navigate it alone.

X (formerly Twitter)

X does not currently offer a memorialisation option. The choices available to families are to leave the account as it is, or to request that it be deactivated and removed.

To request removal of a deceased person’s X account, you will need to submit a formal request through X’s support process. X will ask for your name, contact email, a copy of your own identification, and documentation confirming the death. Once verified, the account can be deactivated.

It is worth noting that X’s policies on inactive accounts have evolved over recent years, and the platform has at times removed accounts that have been dormant for an extended period. If you wish to preserve the account for now, you may wish to act sooner rather than later.

LinkedIn allows family members to report the death of a member and request that the profile be removed. You can do this through the platform’s dedicated reporting form, which asks for the person’s name, their LinkedIn profile URL, your relationship to them, and the date of passing.

LinkedIn does not offer a memorialisation option in the same way as Facebook, so removal is the primary route for families who wish to close the account. Many families find it helpful to take a screenshot or save the profile information before submitting the request, as a personal record.

Email Accounts

While not strictly social media, email accounts are worth addressing here as they often contain important correspondence and can occasionally receive messages from people who have not yet heard of the bereavement.

The process for accessing or closing a deceased person’s email account varies depending on the provider and is often more complex than social media – particularly if the person did not leave their login details. Most providers, including Gmail (Google) and Outlook (Microsoft), have formal processes for dealing with deceased account holders, and these will generally require documentation. A solicitor can advise if access to emails is needed as part of the estate administration process.

Practical Steps Worth Taking

If you are in the early stages of managing a loved one’s digital presence, here are some practical things to keep in mind:

Make a list of all the platforms your loved one used, along with any usernames or email addresses you are aware of.
Check whether they stored any login details – in a notebook, a password manager app, or a document on their phone or computer.
If you have access to their phone or email, take note of any accounts that send regular updates or notifications, as these can help build a picture of what needs to be addressed.
Consider taking screenshots or saving content – photographs, posts, messages – that holds sentimental value before submitting any removal requests.
You do not need to do everything at once. Tackle one account at a time, when you feel ready.

A Note on Digital Legacy

For families thinking ahead, it is worth knowing that most major platforms now allow users to nominate a trusted person to manage their account after death, or to leave instructions for what they would like to happen. On Facebook, this is called a Legacy Contact. Google offers a feature called Inactive Account Manager. Apple allows users to nominate a Digital Legacy Contact.

While these are not conversations that feel urgent in day-to-day life, they are a genuinely kind thing to arrange – a small act of planning that can spare your loved ones a great deal of confusion and distress in the future. We would gently encourage anyone reading this to look into the options available on the platforms they use most regularly.