How to Delete a Loved One's Digital Footprint After They Die
A step-by-step guide to closing accounts, removing data, and deciding what to keep. Last verified September 2026.
When someone dies, their online life doesn't end with them. No platform learns of a death on its own — accounts simply sit as they are until someone acts, or until an inactivity timer acts first.
Before you delete anything: decide what you want to keep
This is the step most people skip and later regret, and on one platform it's irreversible.
Google is explicit about this: if you choose to close the account, Google cannot process any request to turn over its contents later. If you want photos, emails, or documents from a Google account, you must request them before requesting closure. google
Deletion elsewhere carries similar finality. Before you begin:
Download photos, videos, and messages you may want later
Save anything sentimental, even if you can't look at it yet
Note accounts holding money, credits, or purchases
Talk to siblings or family before deleting shared memories
Grief changes what matters to you. What feels unbearable now may be precious in three years.
What you'll need
A scan or clear photo of the death certificate
Your government-issued ID
Proof of relationship or authority — often a letter of administration or estate letter naming you as executor
Order more certified copies of the death certificate than you think you need.
Make a list of accounts first
Search their email inbox for "welcome," "your receipt," "subscription." Check bank statements for recurring charges, their phone's installed apps, and any password manager.
Platform by platform
Two options: memorialize or delete. Once memorialized, "Remembering" appears above the name, which creates a space for remembrance and protects against attempted logins and fraudulent activity. Requests go through Facebook's Special Request for a Deceased Person's Account form. meta
The documentation differs by outcome. For memorialization, Facebook accepts an obituary, death certificate, memorial card, or other documentation confirming the death — and the information must match the account. To remove the account, Facebook requires a scan or photo of the death certificate, and verification that you are an immediate family member or executor. Special Request for Medically Incapacitated or Deceased ... +2
Facebook will not provide login credentials under any circumstances.
It's Instagram's policy to remove a deceased person's profile, and it won't provide anyone with login information. Verified immediate family members may request removal, with proof such as the deceased person's birth certificate, their death certificate, or proof of authority under local law that you are the lawful representative of the person or their estate. Memorialization is the lighter-touch option and can be requested more broadly. instagraminstagram
Google (Gmail, Photos, Drive, YouTube)
Google can work with immediate family members and representatives to close a deceased person's account, and in certain circumstances may provide content from it — but it cannot provide passwords or login details, and every request is reviewed individually. google
The troubleshooter offers three paths: close the account, request funds from it, or obtain data from it. Submit any data request first. Closure last. google
Separately, Google reserves the right to delete a personal account and its data if it has gone unused for at least two years, so an untouched account may eventually be removed without any action from you. google
Apple
Apple requires and verifies legal documentation before assisting with a deceased person's account — generally a death certificate, and possibly a court order or other documentation. You can start a deletion request on Apple's Digital Legacy website. apple
If the person set up a Legacy Contact, you may have an access key in your Apple Account settings, printed out, or included in their estate planning documents — the easiest and most secure way to get access to data stored in their account. appleapple
Without one, in the U.S. you can request access with a court order naming you as the rightful inheritor — and only one person can request access to a given account. Some data may be end-to-end encrypted, which Apple cannot decrypt. appleapple
For devices: Activation Lock is removed automatically once a Legacy Contact or deletion request is completed, but a device locked with a passcode is protected by passcode encryption, and Apple can't remove it without erasing the device. appleapple
Microsoft (Outlook, Hotmail, Live, MSN, OneDrive, Xbox)
Microsoft's position is unusually blunt. You don't need to contact Microsoft to report a death. If you know the credentials, you can close the account yourself; if you don't, it will close automatically after two years of inactivity. microsoft
After closing, the account can be reopened within 60 days by signing in — Microsoft holds the data that long — after which the account and its data are permanently deleted. microsoft
If you don't have access, be aware of the clock: Outlook.com and OneDrive accounts are frozen after one year, and stored email and files are deleted shortly after. Microsoft also advises ensuring any subscriptions are cancelled, which can be done by closing the customer's bank account or card, or informing the bank. microsoftmicrosoft
Gaining access is difficult by design: Microsoft must first be formally served with a valid subpoena or court order before it will consider whether it can lawfully release a deceased user's information, and it will only respond to non-criminal subpoenas served on its registered agent in the requesting party's state or region. microsoft
X (formerly Twitter)
Deactivation only. X can work with a person authorized to act on behalf of the estate, or a verified immediate family member, to have an account deactivated — but is unable to provide account access to anyone, regardless of relationship. After you submit the request, X emails instructions for providing more details, including information about the deceased, a copy of your ID, and a copy of the death certificate; X says this information is removed once reviewed. xtwitter
There is no memorialization option.
Discord
Discord publishes a dedicated article for deceased or incapacitated users. For privacy and security reasons, Discord is unable to provide access, disclose personal information, make changes, or share data tied to an account — though if you have access to the associated email address, you can initiate a password reset and regain access that way. Otherwise, a request from a different account requires a specific confirmation phrase plus proof of death, proof of relationship, and photo ID. discord
Snapchat
Snapchat has no memorialization option and does not grant families access. Requests are made through its support form under the option indicating that a person has died, with a death certificate and account details. Snap doesn't publish a detailed policy, so expect less clarity here than elsewhere.
What you can't transfer
Purchased digital media — Kindle books, iTunes purchases, Google Play content, Steam libraries — generally cannot be transferred after death. These are licenses, not property.
Don't forget the non-account footprint
Subscriptions and recurring charges
Data broker and people-search sites, most of which have opt-out processes
Online obituaries and memorial pages
Loyalty and rewards programs
Do this before you have to
Nearly every difficulty above traces to the same source: the person never recorded their wishes. Facebook's legacy contact, Google's Inactive Account Manager, and Apple's Legacy Contact each take minutes to set up and only work if set up in advance.
This isn't only convenience. Under RUFADAA — the digital-assets law most US states have adopted — a direction given through a platform's own tool sits at the top of the priority order, ahead of instructions in a will. If you're reading this while handling someone else's accounts, that's the one thing worth doing for yourself when this is over.
Give yourself time
There's no deadline, other than the platform clocks noted above. Some families divide accounts among siblings; some wait a year before touching social media. Both are fine.
Deleting an account is an administrative act. It isn't erasing the person.