When someone dies, their digital life does not disappear with them. Email accounts continue to receive messages. Subscriptions keep charging. Social media profiles remain visible. Cryptocurrency may sit in wallets that nobody knows how to open. And somewhere in a drawer, there is probably a phone that holds the keys to all of it.
This guide is a practical recovery manual. It covers how to access, close, or memorialise the major online platforms, how to handle devices and authentication locks, what the law now says about digital property, and how to find digital assets that might otherwise be missed entirely. If you are just starting the process, our step-by-step guide to what to do when someone dies covers the full picture.
If you can only do one thing today
If you can only do one thing today: Secure the deceased's phone and keep it charged. Do not factory reset it, do not cancel their mobile contract, and do not remove the SIM card. That phone is likely the single most important key to their entire digital life.
The Phone Comes First: Managing Devices and Multi-Factor Authentication
Most guides to digital legacy start with the platforms. This one starts with the device, because in practice, the device is where most families get stuck.
The reason is Multi-Factor Authentication, commonly called MFA or two-step verification. Even if you know someone's password, most accounts now require a second layer of proof: a code sent by text message, a push notification, or a code from an authenticator app (like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator). That second factor almost always goes to their phone.
If the phone is wiped, returned to a network provider, or the SIM is cancelled, you lose access to that second factor. At that point, you are locked out of most accounts regardless of whether you have the password. Getting back in without MFA typically requires a formal request with legal documents, which can take weeks or months.
What to do with the phone
Keep the phone charged and do not reset it. If it has a passcode you do not know, do not attempt too many guesses, as most devices will lock permanently after repeated failed attempts (Apple devices disable after 10 incorrect tries).
If a family member's fingerprint or face was already registered on the device (some couples and parents do this), use it now to unlock the phone and access accounts before the device locks again due to inactivity. Once inside, you can view authenticator apps, read SMS codes, and access email. Consider disabling MFA on important accounts while you have access, or changing the recovery phone number to your own.
Keep the SIM card active
Contact the mobile provider and explain the situation. Ask them to keep the number active on a basic tariff for the time being. You need the number to receive SMS verification codes. Some providers will allow you to transfer the number to a new SIM in your name if you provide a death certificate. This is particularly useful if the phone itself is locked.
Do not port the number away or cancel the contract until you have finished dealing with all online accounts. This could take several weeks.
Check for a password manager
If you can get into the phone, check for password manager apps such as 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass, or the built-in Keychain (Apple) or Google Password Manager. A single master password or biometric unlock could give you access to every stored login. This is often the fastest route to resolving the entire digital estate.
Passkeys: why the device matters even more now
A growing number of accounts sign in with a passkey instead of a password: a credential stored in the phone's keychain or password manager and released with Face ID, Touch ID or the device passcode. There is nothing written down and nothing to guess. If the phone is wiped, the passkey goes with it. Apple's Legacy Contact scheme does not hand over iCloud Keychain (saved passwords, passkeys and payment cards), so the unlocked device is often the only route into a passkey-protected account. Treat it accordingly, and before you change anything on an account, check whether you are about to remove the only way back in.
The Law: Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025
Since December 2025, the legal position on digital assets in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland has changed significantly. The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 formally recognises that certain digital assets, including crypto-tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), can be treated as personal property under UK law.
Previously, digital assets occupied a grey area. They did not fit neatly into the two traditional categories of personal property (things you can physically possess, and debts or contractual rights). Courts had started to treat them as property in individual cases, but there was no statute confirming this.
The 2025 Act creates what lawyers call a "third category" of personal property. In practical terms, this means:
For executors: digital assets that qualify as property under the Act are part of the Estate. They can be included in the Grant of Probate and distributed according to the will or intestacy rules, just like a bank account or a piece of jewellery.
When dealing with platforms: you can now frame your request not as asking for "access to an account" but as requesting property belonging to the estate. This gives you a stronger legal footing, particularly when dealing with the legal teams at large technology companies.
For cryptocurrency on exchanges: the Act is silent on this. Money or crypto held for someone by an exchange such as Coinbase or Kraken is usually a contractual claim against the exchange, governed by its terms of service, and most large exchanges have a bereavement process for exactly this situation (see below). What the Act does is confirm that the crypto itself can be property, which matters most when it is held in the person's own wallet.
What the Act does not do: It does not override the terms of service of individual platforms. Apple, Google, and Meta still have their own bereavement policies, and the Act does not force them to hand over login credentials. It also does not tell you how to recover a lost private key for a cryptocurrency wallet. And it does not apply in Scotland, which passed its own Act in 2026 (see the Scotland note below).
If the person who died was a child
Since 30 September 2025, a coroner investigating a child's death can ask Ofcom to issue a data preservation notice, which requires online services to keep the child's account data rather than deleting it while the investigation runs. This came in through the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and covers social media, messaging and gaming services regulated under the Online Safety Act. It does not give the family the data directly; it stops it disappearing while the coroner decides what is needed. If you are in this situation, mention it to the coroner's officer early, keep the child's devices exactly as they are, and ask whether the same route is available if the death is being investigated in Scotland.
Platform-by-Platform: The Big Five
Each major platform handles bereavement differently. What they have in common is that none of them will give you the deceased's password. They will either provide data as a download, close the account, or memorialise it. In every case, you will need a death certificate and proof of your identity.
| Platform | What you can ask for | Shortcut, if they set it up |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | Data archive or account closure. No published time; allow a few weeks. | Legacy Contact |
| Data download or account deletion. No published time; weeks to months. | Inactive Account Manager | |
| Meta | Memorialise or remove. Usually a week or two. | Legacy Contact (Facebook) |
| Microsoft | Close it yourself if you have the sign-in. No data released without a court order; unused accounts close after 2 years. | None |
| Memorialise or close. Closure within about 30 days. | None |
Apple (iCloud, Photos, Messages, App Store)
Apple offers two routes depending on whether the deceased set up a Legacy Contact.
If a Legacy Contact was set up: The designated person uses their access key (generated when the Legacy Contact was created) to request the deceased's data through Apple's Digital Legacy portal. Apple provides a downloadable archive of iCloud data including photos, emails, notes, and files. Apple does not publish a turnaround, so allow a few weeks. Access runs for three years from approval, and it does not include anything in iCloud Keychain (saved passwords, passkeys and payment cards) or purchased media and subscriptions.
If no Legacy Contact was set up: You will need a court order naming you as the rightful person to access the data, along with a death certificate and your own ID. Under the 2025 Act, you may be able to strengthen your application by framing digital files stored in iCloud as property of the estate. Apple will not unlock the device itself or provide passwords. They provide data as an archive only.
Important: Apple devices with Activation Lock cannot be reused without the original Apple Account credentials or proof of ownership. If a Legacy Contact request is approved, Apple removes Activation Lock from the person's devices at the same time. Without one, contact Apple Support with the death certificate and proof of purchase; Apple may be able to remove Activation Lock, but it cannot remove a passcode without erasing the device.
Contact: Apple Support (via the Apple Support app or website), or the Digital Legacy request page at digital-legacy.apple.com. There is no bereavement email address; everything runs through those two channels. Apple's own explanation is at support.apple.com/en-gb/102431.
Google (Gmail, Drive, Photos, YouTube)
Google provides three options.
Inactive Account Manager: If the deceased set this up in advance, Google automatically shares data with or deletes the account after a set period of inactivity (3, 6, 12 or 18 months, chosen by the account holder). Designated contacts receive a notification and access to selected data.
Request access to data: You can submit a formal request to Google with a death certificate, your government ID, proof of your relationship to the deceased, and the Gmail address. Google reviews each request individually and may provide a data download. It does not publish a timeframe, so allow weeks rather than days, and be aware that Google may ask for a court order before releasing the contents of an account (as opposed to closing it). Start from Google's request form for a deceased person's account.
Request account deletion: If you do not need the data but want the account closed, Google can do this with the same documentation. Note that once an account is closed, a later request for its contents is no longer possible, so ask for the data first if there is any chance you will want it.
Do not leave it too long: Google deletes accounts that have not been used for two years. If the account matters to the estate, sign in if you can, or start the request well inside that window.
YouTube channels with revenue: If the deceased earned advertising income from a YouTube channel, this is a financial asset. Contact the YouTube Partner Programme support team separately, as the channel may continue to generate revenue that belongs to the estate.
Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp)
Meta offers memorialisation or removal.
Memorialise the account: Facebook adds a "Remembering" label above the person's name. Friends can still post tributes. If the deceased set up a Legacy Contact, that person can manage certain aspects of the memorialised profile (pinning posts, responding to friend requests). Instagram accounts can also be memorialised. WhatsApp has no memorialisation (see "Other platforms in brief" below).
Remove the account: You can request permanent deletion of a Facebook or Instagram account by submitting proof of death (a death certificate, obituary, or memorial card) and the profile URL. This typically takes 1 to 2 weeks. Request removal on Facebook
Important: Downloaded photos and messages are not available to family members unless the deceased set up a Legacy Contact or you have direct access to the account via their device.
For a fuller walkthrough of memorialising or closing each network, see our guide on managing a deceased person's social media.
Microsoft (Outlook, OneDrive, Xbox)
Microsoft offers the fewest options of the five. It no longer runs a next-of-kin process. Its current policy is that it is generally unable to provide information to anyone other than the account holder, and that it will only consider releasing a deceased person's data once it has been formally served with a valid court order or subpoena. Even then it does not guarantee to help.
If you know the sign-in details: log in, download what the estate needs (Outlook email, OneDrive files), and then close the account yourself from the account settings. This is the practical route for almost every family.
If you do not: the account will close on its own. Microsoft says an Outlook.com mailbox is frozen after a year without a sign-in and the account is closed after two years. Unless the estate needs something specific from the account and can justify a court application, most families let it lapse.
Xbox and gaming: purchased games, in-game items and currency are licences tied to the account rather than property you can transfer, so they lapse with it. If there is a stored balance of real money, raise it with Microsoft Support.
Policy page: Microsoft: accessing a deceased person's account
LinkedIn offers two routes.
Memorialise the profile: anyone can ask for this. The profile stays visible with a memorial badge, is locked so nobody can sign in, and stops appearing in "people you may know" suggestions. You give the person's name and profile URL, your relationship to them, and ideally a link to an obituary or a copy of the death certificate.
Close the account: only an authorised person can request this (immediate family, or someone with legal authority over the estate). LinkedIn asks for the death certificate plus the Grant of Probate, Letters of Administration or an equivalent court document; a will or power of attorney on its own is not accepted. Once closed, the data is deleted within about 30 days.
LinkedIn does not provide data downloads to family members and will not release the password. If you need information from the profile (employment history and pension schemes are useful for probate), take screenshots before asking for closure. Both requests start from LinkedIn's deceased-member help page.
Other platforms in brief
- WhatsApp: no memorialisation. You can ask WhatsApp to delete the account with the phone number, a death certificate and proof of your authority; otherwise it is deleted after a long period without connecting.
- X (Twitter), TikTok and Snapchat: at the time of writing, none offers memorialisation or a legacy contact. Each will deactivate or delete an account at the request of an immediate family member or the estate's representative, with ID and a death certificate.
- Password managers: 1Password, Bitwarden and similar tools have emergency or legacy access features. If the person set one up, it may be the fastest route of all; the provider's support pages explain how a nominated person claims access.
Cryptocurrency and Digital Financial Assets
Cryptocurrency is the area where the most money can be lost permanently, and where families need to be most careful. The rules depend entirely on how the deceased held their crypto.
Custodial assets: Exchanges (Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, etc.)
If the deceased held cryptocurrency on an exchange, the exchange holds it for them under its terms of service, and what the estate has is usually a claim against the exchange for the balance, much as with a bank. The 2025 Act did not change this; what it did was put beyond doubt that the crypto itself can be property, which is the part that matters for probate and the estate accounts.
Contact the exchange's bereavement or legal team with a death certificate, Grant of Probate (or Letters of Administration), and your ID. Each exchange has its own process (most large ones publish it), and all of them will want the Grant or Confirmation before releasing funds to the personal representative.
Check bank statements for recurring payments to exchanges. Not everyone tells their family about crypto holdings.
Non-custodial assets: Hardware wallets and software wallets
This is where things become difficult. If the deceased held cryptocurrency in their own wallet (a hardware device like a Ledger or Trezor, or a software wallet on their phone or computer), there is no company to contact. The assets are controlled entirely by a private key or a recovery phrase (sometimes called a seed phrase), typically 12 or 24 words written down on paper or stored in a password manager.
Without the recovery phrase or private key, the assets are permanently inaccessible. No court order, no Act of Parliament, and no technology company can retrieve them. This is how cryptocurrency works by design.
Where to look for recovery phrases: Check the deceased's safe, filing cabinet, or any physical documents kept with important papers. Look in password managers. Check for any notes labelled "seed phrase," "recovery words," or "backup." Some people store them in sealed envelopes with their will.
If you can only do one thing today
Critical safety warning: Never enter a recovery phrase into any website you found through a search engine. Scam websites specifically target bereaved families searching for "crypto recovery" or "wallet recovery service." These sites steal whatever is in the wallet. Legitimate recovery means using the phrase directly in the official wallet software (such as Ledger Live or Trezor Suite) on a secure device you control. If you are not confident doing this yourself, consult a solicitor who specialises in digital assets, not an online "recovery service."
NFTs, tokens, and other digital financial assets
The same principles apply. If held on an exchange or marketplace, contact the platform. If held in a personal wallet, you need the private key. The 2025 Act strengthens the legal position that these are property of the estate, but the practical challenge of access remains the same.
Cross-Border Complications: When UK Probate Meets US Platforms
Most major technology platforms are US-based companies. While they generally cooperate with UK Grants of Probate and Scottish Confirmations, this is not always simple.
Some platform legal teams, particularly Apple and Microsoft, have been known to query whether a UK probate document gives sufficient authority over data held on US servers. This does not happen in every case, but it can cause delays for larger or more complex estates.
If you encounter resistance from a US-based platform, there are a few practical steps to consider.
Ask your solicitor about an apostille. An apostille is an international authentication certificate (issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the UK) that certifies a legal document for use abroad. Adding an apostille to your Grant of Probate makes it easier for a US legal team to accept.
Request a "Letter of Authority" from your solicitor. Some practitioners prepare a specific letter addressed to the platform's legal department, referencing the Grant of Probate, the deceased's account details, and the legal basis for the request (including the 2025 Act where relevant). This can be more effective than simply uploading documents to an online form.
Be prepared for separate processes. Some platforms handle UK requests through a UK or European office, while others route everything through their US headquarters. Response times vary accordingly.
For most estates, the standard bereavement process at each platform will work without any of this. But if the estate involves significant digital assets, multiple platforms, or any platform pushback, having a solicitor who understands both UK probate and digital assets can save considerable time.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Planning Ahead: What You Can Do Now
The single most valuable thing anyone can do for their family is to make their digital life accessible in advance. This does not mean sharing passwords (which often violates platform terms of service). It means using the built-in legacy tools that the major platforms already offer.
- Apple Legacy Contact: Settings > [Your Name] > Sign-In & Security > Legacy Contact. You give someone an access key. They use it after your death to request your data.
- Google Inactive Account Manager: myaccount.google.com > Data & Privacy > Make a plan for your digital legacy. You choose trusted contacts and what data they receive after a period of account inactivity.
- Meta Legacy Contact: Facebook Settings > Memorialization Settings. You choose someone to manage your memorialised account.
- Password manager emergency access: 1Password, Bitwarden and others let you nominate someone who can request access to your vault after a waiting period. With more sign-ins moving to passkeys, which cannot be written down, this is increasingly the only practical handover.
Keep a list of accounts (without passwords) in a sealed envelope with your will, or in a password manager that your executor knows about and can access. Include email addresses, phone numbers associated with accounts, and the names of any exchanges or wallets holding financial assets. For more on the physical side of organising belongings, see our guide to sorting out personal belongings after a death.
Write down cryptocurrency recovery phrases and store them securely, separate from your devices. Tell your executor (or the person you trust most) where to find them. If they are lost, the assets are lost.
If you are organising your own affairs rather than someone else's, AfterLoss's planning mode has a digital accounts page for exactly this list: which accounts exist, where the sign-in lives, and what should happen to each. You can see that page in the planning tour before creating anything.
What Often Catches People Out Online
Don't rush to close everything. Email accounts in particular may continue to receive important correspondence, password reset links, and financial statements for months after the death. Keep the primary email account open until the estate is fully settled, and sign in to it now and then: Google and Microsoft both close accounts that go unused for two years.
Social media grief is real. Seeing a deceased person's profile appear in "memories" or "people you may know" can be deeply distressing. If you want to memorialise or remove profiles, do it when you feel ready, not because you feel you should.
Terms of service are not the final word. Platforms often have more flexibility than their published policies suggest, particularly when you speak to a bereavement specialist rather than a general customer service agent. Be patient, be clear about what you need, and escalate if necessary.
Small accounts add up. A Spotify subscription, an iCloud storage plan, three streaming services, and a gym app can easily total over £50 a month. Check bank statements and cancel what is no longer needed. Our guide to closing utility accounts covers the process for broadband, mobile, and other recurring services.
Useful Contacts and Resources
- GOV.UK - Tell Us Once: Tell Us Once on GOV.UK - The government service that notifies multiple departments of a death in one go (does not cover private companies or technology platforms, and is not available in Northern Ireland).
- Law Commission - Digital Assets Report: lawcom.gov.uk/project/digital-assets - The legal background to the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025.
- Gretel: www.gretel.co.uk - Free tracing service for dormant bank accounts, pensions, investments and life insurance policies.
- My Lost Account: www.mylostaccount.org.uk - Free tracing for lost bank, building society and NS&I accounts, run by the banking trade bodies.
- AfterLoss: Information and Documents - keeps the running list of accounts found, what each platform asked for and where every request stands, for as many family members as need it.
Next Steps
If you are dealing with a digital estate right now, start with the phone. Secure the device, keep the SIM active, and check for a password manager. Then work through the platforms in order of priority: email first (it unlocks everything else), then financial accounts, then social media.
If you are planning ahead, set up legacy contacts on Apple, Google, and Meta today. It takes five minutes for each one and could save your family weeks of paperwork.