What happens to a persons social media account when they die?

When a loved one dies, there are many things to think about – like notifying friends and family, arranging the funeral and deciding what to do with the deceased’s ashes. However, one thing that’s less commonly considered is what happens to a person’s social media account when they die.

We understand that dealing with someone else’s social accounts can be overwhelming. It’s also unlikely to be at the top of your agenda. So this blog will explain your options and guide you through the process in simple steps. 

What happens to social media accounts after a death? 

After someone close to you dies, there are three main options available to you. Before you decide, check to see if your loved one left any specific instructions about what to do with their social media accounts. Otherwise, you can take action in one of these three ways:  

Delete their social media accounts

If you’re worried about your loved one’s accounts being hacked or don’t want people to be able to interact with them, you can delete them. Doing so will permanently remove photos, videos and information stored about them on social media.  

Deactivation is permanent, so be sure to save anything you want to keep before you proceed. It’s also wise to talk to family and friends before you do anything. They will need time to raise concerns, come to terms with your decision, or save any content they wish to keep.  

To close someone’s account , you’ll need:  

• Their full name 
• A link to the profile 
• Proof of their death, such as a death certificate 
• Evidence of your relationship to the deceased 

You may also be asked for further proof, but each social media platform will advise you of what they require to carry out an account deactivation before they begin the process. 

Turn their social media accounts into an online memorial 

For some, deleting a loved one’s social media accounts feels too final. Instead of removing their digital presence, you may prefer to turn their accounts into an online memorial for friends and family to remember them by.  

Doing this keeps their photos and videos intact. But it changes how the accounts work by preventing people from interacting with them. A memorialised profile also makes it clear to visitors that the person behind the profile has passed away. 

You may find that turning their accounts into an online memorial is a good way to help you and other friends and family grieve – at least in the immediate aftermath of a loved one’s death. You can always delete the accounts later on if leaving them online becomes too painful. 

You’ll need to bear in mind that the leading social media providers, including Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, handle memorial pages differently, and not all offer the option to memorialise them. Look at their help pages for in-depth help and information. 

Here are some helpful links to point you in the right direction: 

Contact Facebook and fill out the request to memorialise form.  

Contact Instagram to request to memorialise a deceased person’s account.  

Leave their social media as it is 

You don’t have to delete or memorialise your loved one’s social media accounts if you don’t want to. Instead, you can leave them as they are. Some people find comfort from interacting with the account and seeing it pop up on the feed every now and then.  

However, this isn’t for everyone. By leaving the accounts alone, automated features – such as birthday notifications and memories – will appear on their connected friends’ feeds. This can be upsetting to see, especially if the notifications appear unexpectedly or without warning. 

You may want to make people aware of the passing by tagging the deceased in a social media post. That way, friends and followers can hide the account if it’s too painful for them to see it.  

Get support with Life Ledger 

You don’t have to deal with any of this alone. Life Ledger’s free, easy-to-use service helps simplify the death notification process by contacting all businesses (including social media) connected to the deceased. You can keep track of the progress and upload any required documents from a single place, saving you hours of time and removing the need to have the same difficult conversations over and over.  

If you need support, contact our friendly and knowledgeable team for help and guidance through this tough time.