Most major platforms now offer some way to handle an account after death — but the options are limited, platform-specific, and most people never set them up in advance.
What each platform actually offers
- Facebook/Instagram (Meta): a Legacy Contact can manage a memorialized account; without one, family can request memorialization or removal with a death certificate.
- Google: Inactive Account Manager lets you pre-choose someone to receive data after a set period of inactivity.
- TikTok, X, LinkedIn: generally offer account removal on request, with limited to no memorialization or data-transfer options.
None of these tools are enabled by default. If you haven’t set a Legacy Contact or Inactive Account Manager, your family’s only real path is a slow, document-heavy request process directly with each platform — sometimes without ever getting the photos, messages, or content itself.
Beyond sentimental value
For anyone who monetizes a following — a fitness page, a small business Instagram, a YouTube channel — these accounts carry financial value too. Estate plans should treat a revenue-generating social account the same way they’d treat any other business asset.
What to actually do
- Set a Legacy Contact on Facebook and an Inactive Account Manager on Google today — both take about five minutes.
- Keep a private list of which platforms you use, without needing to store passwords for all of them.
- Decide in advance: should these accounts be memorialized, deleted, or handed to someone to manage?
Related reading
This is part of our series on digital estate planning for Fort Worth families.
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