Managing a Deceased Person’s Social Media (UK Guide)

Before going further, it is worth understanding the law around accessing a deceased person's accounts.

Logging in using their password carries real risk

When someone dies, their accounts do not become accessible to their family automatically. Using a deceased person's credentials to log in to their accounts may amount to unauthorised access under the Computer Misuse Act 1990, which applies across the UK. Bereavement guidance from legal organisations warns executors about this risk, even where the intention is entirely well-meaning.

Prosecutions in this context are rare, but if anything goes wrong during account access (a dispute with another family member, or an allegation that something was deleted or misused), having used a deceased person's password could become relevant.

The safest route in almost every case is to go through the platform's official bereavement or next-of-kin process.

UK GDPR does not protect deceased people's data

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 only apply to data relating to living individuals. Once someone dies, their personal data no longer has formal UK GDPR protections. This means platforms are not legally required under data protection law to give family members access, but it also means they are not prevented from doing so. Each platform sets its own policies.

Wills and digital assets

Wills can include instructions about digital accounts and online assets. The legal framework for this has become clearer following the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 2 December 2025. That Act formally recognises digital assets as a category of personal property across the UK, which puts them on firmer legal footing when it comes to inheritance and estate administration.

What this does not do is require social media platforms to hand over account access or passwords to executors or family members. Each platform still sets its own policies on what it will and will not share. But if the person named a platform account in their will or left written instructions, those instructions now sit within a clearer legal framework. A clearly written will remains the most reliable way to ensure wishes are followed.

Take a few steps before requesting memorialisation or deletion.

Screenshot what matters. Before any account is locked, memorialised, or deleted, consider whether there are photos, posts, or messages that family members would want to keep. Most platforms will not give you access to archived content once an account is memorialised or deleted. Download what you can while you still have access through shared albums or public posts.

Talk to the family first. People feel differently about memorialisation versus deletion. One sibling may find it comforting to see their parent's profile preserved as a memorial. Another may find it distressing. There is no single right answer. Where possible, agree as a family before taking irreversible action.

Check for digital legacy instructions. Some people set up a digital legacy in advance, naming specific contacts to manage accounts after their death. Apple's Digital Legacy feature, Facebook's Legacy Contact, and Google's Inactive Account Manager all allow this. Check whether the person set these up. If they did, you will have more control over the process.

Facebook and Instagram are owned by Meta and have broadly similar bereavement processes.

Facebook memorialisation

When a Facebook account is memorialised, the word “Remembering” appears before the person's name. The profile stays up but no one can log in to it. Adverts do not appear on memorialised profiles. The profile cannot appear in “People You May Know” suggestions, which is often a relief for people who found those reminders upsetting.

If the deceased nominated a Legacy Contact before they died, that person can manage the profile in limited ways: they can pin a post to the top of the profile (for example, a tribute or funeral notice), they can respond to new friend requests, and they can update the profile photo. They cannot read the deceased's private messages or remove old posts.

To request memorialisation, go to the Special Request for Memorialised Account page on Facebook's Help Centre. You will need to provide the person's name, your relationship to them, and proof of death (usually a death certificate or obituary).

Facebook removal

If the family prefers the account to be deleted entirely, a verified immediate family member or executor can submit a Special Request for Deceased Person's Account. You will need to provide evidence of your relationship (and, for executors, documentation showing your legal authority over the estate). Facebook will ask for a death certificate.

Removing an account is permanent and irreversible. Once deleted, all photos, posts, and messages are gone.

Instagram memorialisation and removal

The process for Instagram is handled through Instagram's own Help Centre, separately from Facebook even though both are owned by Meta. You can request memorialisation or removal of an Instagram account by submitting a request via the Help Centre form. You will need to provide proof of death and confirm your relationship to the deceased.

Memorialised Instagram accounts are locked. They remain visible but no one can log in. For removal, Meta may ask for additional documentation, including a death certificate and evidence under local law that you are the lawful representative of the estate.

X does not offer a memorialisation option. The only choice is removal (which closes the account) or leaving it as it is.

To request removal on behalf of someone who has died, submit a request through X's Help Centre. X will follow up by email asking for further information, including your identification and a copy of the death certificate.

LinkedIn now offers two routes depending on your relationship to the deceased.

Anyone can report a member as deceased through LinkedIn's Help Centre. LinkedIn will memorialise the profile, locking it so no one can log in and the username and password will not be disclosed. The memorialised profile remains on LinkedIn.

Authorised representatives (immediate family members or those with legal authority over the estate) can request that the account be closed entirely. Once closed, LinkedIn says it can take up to 30 days to fully delete the data.

To submit either type of request, go to LinkedIn's Help Centre and search for “deceased member.” You will need to provide the person's name, their LinkedIn profile URL, your relationship, and confirmation of the death.

If the deceased had connections or recommendations that you want to preserve, take screenshots before submitting a closure request, as all content will be removed.

TikTok has a process for reporting a deceased user's account. Submit a request through TikTok's Support centre and select the option relating to a deceased user. You will need to provide the username, your relationship, and evidence of death.

Reports suggest TikTok may offer a memorialisation option with a “Remembering” label, similar to Facebook, as well as removal. TikTok's official help page should be checked directly before submitting, as the options available may vary.

YouTube is part of Google. If the deceased had a YouTube channel, it is likely linked to a Google account that also covers Gmail, Google Drive, Google Photos, and any other Google services they used.

Google's Inactive Account Manager

Google offers a feature called Inactive Account Manager, which allows users to set up instructions about what should happen to their account if it becomes inactive. If the deceased set this up and named you as a trusted contact, you will receive access according to their instructions once the account has been inactive for the period they specified.

If no Inactive Account Manager was set up, Google allows family members to submit a request for account closure. Google will also, in some circumstances, provide download access to certain data from the account to a verified next of kin, though this is assessed on a case-by-case basis and is not guaranteed.

To submit a request, visit Google's Deceased User's Account page in the Help Centre. You will need to provide the deceased's Gmail address, your name, country, and your relationship to the deceased, along with documentation.

Requests are assessed by a dedicated team. Google does not provide account passwords or log-in access to family members.

YouTube channels

If the deceased had a YouTube channel with subscribers, views, or content that family members want to preserve, take screenshots of statistics, comments, or community posts before the account is closed. Google Takeout (takeout.google.com) allows users to export their own data, but this requires being logged into the account. If a data request to Google as next of kin is successful, it may include content from YouTube as part of the broader account data.

Apple takes a strict approach to account access. Apple accounts are non-transferable, and Apple does not provide account passwords or direct access to a deceased person's device or account, even to family members.

Digital Legacy

Since iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, and macOS Monterey, Apple has offered a Digital Legacy feature. A user can designate Legacy Contacts in their Apple ID settings. When they die, the Legacy Contact can request access to the account using a special Access Key that was generated when they were nominated.

With Digital Legacy access, a Legacy Contact can access most of the data stored in iCloud, including photos, notes, messages stored in iCloud, and files. They cannot access the person's password-protected data that is not stored in iCloud, purchased content (music, apps, books), or information stored only on the device.

If no Digital Legacy contact was set up, Apple may consider requests from verified family members. The requirements vary by country or region and typically include a death certificate. Apple may also ask for additional documentation, which in some cases includes a court order confirming entitlement to access the account. Apple's current support pages set out the process, and it is worth reviewing those before starting, as requirements can change.

For most families, the practical advice is: if you cannot access the account through Digital Legacy and there is no urgent reason to pursue it, weigh up whether the likely content justifies the time and possible cost of the process.

Locked devices

If the deceased's iPhone or iPad is locked and you do not know the passcode, Apple cannot remove the lock without erasing the device entirely. If the device was backed up to iCloud and you have Digital Legacy access, you may be able to retrieve data through that route instead. A specialist data recovery company may be able to help in some circumstances, though success is not guaranteed and costs can be significant.

Snapchat's account deletion process is more limited than most other platforms. According to Snapchat's help pages, deleting an account must be done by logging in to the account at accounts.snapchat.com and using the “Delete My Account” option. Snapchat says it only accepts certain requests from a verified email address associated with the account, which means a family member acting as representative may not be able to delete the account through a third-party request.

If you cannot access the account, Snapchat does not currently publish a bereavement-specific removal route for family members. The most practical step may be to leave the account inactive, as Snapchat messages are typically deleted automatically after they are opened or after a set period, limiting the content that remains visible.

WhatsApp does not allow account access by third parties, including family members. WhatsApp's terms of service are clear on this point.

Deleting a WhatsApp account must be done from within the WhatsApp app while logged in on the primary device. If you have access to the deceased's unlocked phone with WhatsApp still active, you can delete the account from within the app. If you do not, there is currently no publicly documented bereavement process through WhatsApp support that allows a family member to close the account remotely.

WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted. Messages may also be backed up to iCloud or Google Drive depending on the person's settings, so there may be more recoverable content than you expect if you have access to those accounts.

Pinterest's help documentation covers standard account deletion (which requires being logged in) but does not currently publish a clear bereavement-specific route for family members. If you need to act on a Pinterest account, contact Pinterest's support team directly and explain the circumstances.

If the person used a range of platforms and you do not know where all their accounts are, start by reviewing:

• Any email inbox you can access (email often contains registration confirmations that reveal which platforms they joined)
• Their phone's home screen and app library
• Any saved passwords in a browser (many people save passwords to Chrome, Safari, or Edge)
• Any physical notebooks or lists of accounts and passwords

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

If reading this guide has prompted you to think about your own accounts, the most useful things you can do are:

Set up Facebook's Legacy Contact and Google's Inactive Account Manager today. Both are available in account settings and take a few minutes.

Enable Apple's Digital Legacy feature on your iPhone or iPad if you use Apple devices, and name at least one Legacy Contact.

Write a list of your accounts, what you would want to happen to each of them, and where that list is kept. Store it with your will or in a place a trusted person can access. Your digital legacy planning guide covers this in more detail.

Add a note to your will or a letter of wishes. A will can include instructions about digital accounts. These instructions may not be legally binding in every case, but they carry significant practical weight and ensure your executor knows what you wanted.

• Social media accounts do not close automatically when someone dies. You need to contact each platform separately.
• Do not log in to a deceased person's accounts using their password. Use the platform's official bereavement request process instead.
• The main options are usually memorialisation (keeps the profile but locks it) or deletion (removes everything permanently). Not all platforms offer both.
• Before taking any action, talk to close family about what they would prefer, and take screenshots or downloads of anything you would want to keep.
• If the person set up Digital Legacy tools (Apple, Facebook, Google), those take priority and give designated contacts more access and control.

• Digital legacy: managing online accounts and digital assets
• Making a will
• Where to keep a will
• What to do when someone dies