Social media accounts are a major part of many people’s digital lives. Photos, videos, conversations, contacts, and personal milestones can remain on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn for years.
But what happens to these accounts when you die?
Are they automatically deleted? Can your loved ones access them? Does your profile remain visible? And could people continue receiving birthday notifications or friend suggestions connected to your account?
The answer differs between platforms. Some services offer memorial profiles or allow you to appoint someone to manage limited parts of your account. Other platforms only provide a procedure through which loved ones can request deletion.
It is therefore important to record not only which accounts you have, but also what you want to happen to each one.
Social media accounts are not automatically deleted
A social media account is usually not automatically deleted when someone dies. The platform does not automatically know that one of its users has passed away.
Without a report or request, a profile may remain visible for a long time. Photos, posts, and videos can stay online, and the account may continue appearing in search results, memories, or recommendations.
This can be valuable. A profile may become a place where family and friends revisit photos and share memories. At the same time, an account that still appears active can be painful or confusing, especially when loved ones do not know what the person would have wanted.
There are generally three possible wishes:
- Preserve the account and its content.
- Turn the profile into a memorial profile.
- Permanently delete the account.
Not every platform supports all three options.
Facebook after death
Facebook has an extensive process for accounts belonging to people who have died. Loved ones can request that a profile be memorialised or, when they have the necessary authority, ask for the account to be deleted.
With a memorial profile, existing content generally remains visible to the audience with whom it was originally shared. The account is secured so that nobody can log in normally. The profile can then become a place where friends and family share memories.
Choosing a legacy contact
Facebook allows users to appoint a legacy contact in advance. This person can manage certain parts of the memorial profile after the user’s death.
Depending on the account settings, a legacy contact may be able to:
- Pin a post to the profile.
- Accept new friend requests.
- Change the profile picture or cover photo.
- Request that the account be deleted.
A legacy contact does not automatically receive access to private messages. They cannot log in as the deceased user or read old conversations.
Facebook also allows users to choose in advance to have their account permanently deleted after their death. It is helpful to make this decision yourself rather than leaving the entire choice to your loved ones.
Instagram after death
An Instagram profile can also be turned into a memorial profile after someone dies. A family member or friend can submit a request to Instagram. The platform may ask for proof of death, such as an obituary or news article.
With a memorial profile:
- Existing photos and videos remain visible to their original audience.
- Nobody can log in to the account.
- Existing posts cannot be changed.
- The profile is protected against unwanted modifications.
Instagram also allows users to add a legacy contact in advance. This person can perform limited management tasks after the user’s death, but they do not receive full access to the account or its private messages.
Immediate family members can also request that the account be permanently deleted. Additional documentation is normally required to prove their relationship to the deceased person.
Do you have a Threads profile connected to Instagram? It is sensible to record your wishes for that profile as well.
TikTok after death
TikTok does not have a similarly well-documented feature that allows users to appoint a legacy contact in advance. It also does not offer a widely available memorial status comparable to Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
For loved ones, this means they will probably need to contact TikTok Support and provide evidence that the account owner has died. The exact process may depend on the situation, country, and available documentation.
Because there is little that can be configured within TikTok itself, it is important to record elsewhere:
- What you want to happen to the account.
- Whether your videos should be preserved.
- Whether loved ones should save copies of specific videos first.
- Who should contact TikTok.
- Where your username and linked email address can be found.
Avoid writing your password in an ordinary note or unsecured document. Instead, record where secure access information or instructions can be found.
LinkedIn after death
LinkedIn offers two options: turning a profile into a memorial profile or closing the account.
Someone who is not legally authorised to act on behalf of the deceased can still report the death. LinkedIn may then memorialise the profile. An authorised representative can request full account closure by providing the required documentation.
A memorial profile preserves the person’s professional history, including:
- Work experience.
- Education.
- Recommendations.
- Posts and articles.
- Professional connections.
For some people, this creates a valuable public overview of their career and achievements. Others may prefer to have their profile removed after death.
For freelancers and business owners, LinkedIn may also be an important part of their business communication. Record who should inform professional contacts and what should happen to company pages, ongoing conversations, or scheduled posts.
X after death
X does not offer memorial profiles and does not give loved ones access to a deceased person’s account.
An immediate family member or someone authorised to act on behalf of the estate can request that the account be deactivated. X may ask for information about the deceased user, proof of identity from the applicant, and a death certificate.
X does not provide login details or access to the account, regardless of the relationship between the applicant and the deceased user.
Do you want certain posts, photos, or conversations to be preserved? You will need to arrange this in advance. Loved ones cannot assume they will be given access to your account after your death.
Snapchat after death
Snapchat has a support procedure through which an account belonging to someone who has died can be reported.
Snapchat focuses heavily on temporary content, but this does not mean that nothing is stored. Consider:
- Photos and videos in Memories.
- Saved conversations.
- Content stored on a phone.
- Photos saved in cloud storage.
- Contacts and group conversations.
Do not only consider what should happen to the account itself. Also check whether important photos from Snapchat Memories are backed up in another secure location.
Can loved ones simply log in?
Giving a password to a family member may seem like an easy solution, but it is not always the best option.
Platforms generally do not simply provide loved ones with access to an account, even when they can prove that the user has died.
Private messages may also contain conversations with other people who never gave permission for those messages to be shared with family members.
It is therefore important to distinguish between:
- Managing or deleting an account.
- Preserving photos and videos.
- Accessing private conversations.
- Taking over business pages or professional profiles.
One person does not need to receive or manage everything. You could appoint one person to manage your public profiles and another to preserve photos or handle business accounts.
What information should you record for each account?
You do not need to create a complicated digital will immediately. Start by making an overview of the social media accounts you use.
Would you first like to create a broader overview of your accounts, devices, subscriptions, and digital files? Use the digital legacy checklist as your starting point.
Record the following information for each social media account:
Platform name
For example, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, or Snapchat.
Username and linked email address
This helps your loved ones find the correct account and contact the platform.
What should happen to the account
For example:
- Delete it.
- Preserve it.
- Turn it into a memorial profile.
- Save photos or videos first and then delete it.
- Transfer it to a colleague or business partner where possible.
Who should handle it
Assign a trusted person to the account. Ideally, choose someone who is comfortable with technology and understands your wishes.
Which content is important
Record whether there are photos, videos, posts, or other memories that must be preserved.
Where secure access information is stored
Do not store passwords unsecured inside your checklist. Instead, note where your loved ones can find the necessary instructions, such as in a password manager, secure vault, or another agreed system.
Do not forget business social media accounts
Do you use social media for your business, association, or project? These accounts may have practical and financial value in addition to emotional value.
Consider:
- A Facebook or LinkedIn company page.
- A professional Instagram account.
- Advertising accounts.
- Scheduled campaigns.
- Collaborations with clients or brands.
- Messages from potential customers.
- Accounts connected to an online store.
- Paid subscriptions or verification.
Record who may temporarily manage these accounts, who should inform clients, and whether the accounts should be transferred or closed.
Also check whether your business pages have more than one administrator. When you are the only administrator, a company or organisation may struggle to regain access after your death.
Your decision does not need to be the same for every platform
You do not have to choose between preserving everything and deleting everything.
You might decide that:
- Facebook should remain as a place for remembrance.
- Instagram should be preserved because of its photos.
- TikTok should be deleted after important videos have been saved.
- LinkedIn should remain visible as a record of your career.
- X should be permanently deleted.
- Snapchat photos should be backed up first.
A well-organised digital legacy is not based on one general decision. It consists of conscious choices for each individual account.
Make things easier for your loved ones
Without instructions, your loved ones will need to determine:
- Which accounts you had.
- Which username belonged to you.
- Which procedures each platform uses.
- Which documents are required.
- Whether you wanted an account preserved or deleted.
- Which photos and messages were important to you.
This takes time and can create uncertainty. The question “What would they have wanted?” can be especially difficult.
By recording your wishes in advance, your loved ones will not have to make these decisions for you later.
Record your social media wishes in MemoryVault
In MemoryVault’s digital legacy checklist, you can record what should happen to each social media account.
Add your accounts, choose whether they should be preserved or deleted, and assign the right loved one to handle each task. You can also record which photos or videos are important and where additional instructions can be found.
This turns a collection of separate accounts into a clear and personal plan.
Start your digital legacy checklist
Platforms may change their procedures and features. Check regularly whether the information you recorded is still up to date. MemoryVault provides practical guidance and is not a replacement for legal advice.