With so many concerns to tend to when a loved one dies, their social media is typically either forgotten or placed at the bottom of the priority list. However, we encourage you to pay special detail to your loved one’s social media accounts for three key reasons:
- Their social media accounts can be supportive in your grief and the grief of their other friends and family.
- Memorializing a social media account offers dignity and permanence to your loved one’s digital legacy.
- Tending to their accounts will prevent hackers from gaining access to the account or other undue events.
General options for managing social media accounts after death
For most social media channels, you have three options for how to manage the account of a loved one who has passed.
Delete the account – This permanently removes the account – and all the information and photos on it – from the platform involved.
Memorialize the account – Most social media platforms allow you to memorialize your loved one’s account by still keeping the account active while deactivating certain features.
Leave the account as it is – This option is not recommended, due to the risk of hackers. Also, some platforms set limitations on how long an account can remain inactive, and will automatically delete the account – and all its contents – at some point in the future.
Making a plan for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn
Facebook will not let anyone access your loved one’s account after they pass, not even to memorialize the account. That’s why it’s crucial to appoint a Facebook Legacy Contact. This will allow the Legacy Contact access to the account to update the profile and cover photos, respond to new friend requests (of friends and family who would like to share memories, for example), change who can see posts your loved one is tagged in, and remove tags of your loved one that someone else has posted, among other things.
However, the Legacy Contact cannot:
- Read your loved one’s private messages
- Remove or change past posts or photos
- Remove any of your loved one’s friends or make new friend requests
- Add a new Legacy Contact to your loved one’s account
Your Facebook Legacy Contact will also have the power to request the removal/deletion of the loved one’s Facebook account. If your loved one does not have a Legacy Contact, their Facebook account will remain active and be vulnerable to hackers, and there will be nothing you can do.
Learn how to add a Legacy Contact on Facebook.
Twitter will not grant account access to anyone regardless of their relationship to the deceased. A family member, or someone on behalf of the estate, can contact Twitter to request deactivation of the deceased loved one’s account, but there’s no option to memorialize a Twitter account.
Instagram will let an immediate family member of the deceased person either memorialize the account or deactivate the account.
If you wish to memorialize your loved one’s account, you only need to provide Instagram with documents that prove your loved one’s passing, such as a link to an obituary or news article.
Memorializing an Instagram account will ensure that:
- No one can log into the account.
- The word “Remembering” will be shown next to your loved one’s name on their profile.
- Posts your loved one shared, including photos and videos, stay on Instagram and remain visible to the audience with which they were shared.
- The account won’t appear in certain places on Instagram, such as Explore.
The requirements are a bit more stringent if you wish to deactivate the Instagram account. Before deactivating the account, an immediate family member of the deceased person must provide proof of relationship such as:
- The deceased person’s birth certificate.
- The deceased person’s death certificate.
- Proof of authority under local law you are the lawful representative of the deceased person (or his/her estate).
Instagram will never provide login details in either case.
LinkedIn probably has the most complicated rules regarding management of a loved one’s LinkedIn accounts. Friends and family can request that LinkedIn either close, hide or memorialize a loved one’s account after they pass.
You can only request to memorialize or close the account if you’re authorized to act on behalf of a deceased member, and have the required information and documentation listed below.
If you aren’t authorized, you can only report a member as deceased, and request LinkedIn hide the account. However, you will need documentation for this, too.
Submitting a request to hide a LinkedIn account
Anyone – even those not authorized to act on behalf of the deceased – can submit a form to report your loved one as deceased. LinkedIn will then hide the account, meaning the profile will no longer be searchable or visible on LinkedIn.
To hide your loved one’s LinkedIn account, you will need to submit the following with your request:
- Member’s full name
- LinkedIn profile link/URL
- Your relationship
- Member’s email address
- Date of their passing
- Link to an obituary
Closing a LinkedIn account
Closing a LinkedIn Account is the same as deleting it. The following will happen:
- Any recommendations or endorsements they’ve given or received – plus their messages and connections – will be removed.
- You will not have access to your loved one’s connections or any information they’ve added to their account.
- Their profile will no longer be visible on LinkedIn.
Because closing a LinkedIn account deletes the account entirely, it’s wise to download a copy of your loved one’s data before you close their account.
Premium membership or LinkedIn Learning subscriptions – both paid features – will need to be resolved before being able to close the Basic account. Otherwise, the card on file will continue to be charged.
Once the LinkedIn account is closed, it can take up to 30 days for LinkedIn to completely remove the deceased person’s data from the system. Keep in mind it will likely take longer than this for the search engines (Bing, Google, Yahoo, etc.) to update their search data. Learn more about how a LinkedIn profile shows up in search engine results.
Memorializing a LinkedIn account
Memorializing your loved one’s LinkedIn accounts allows their legacy to remain on LinkedIn after they’ve passed away. The account is locked after it’s memorialized, and a memorialized badge will appear on the profile page as a symbol of remembrance. Read the exact details here.
LinkedIn will not disclose any usernames or passwords to anyone, including family members, under any circumstances.
Documentation you will need
For requests to memorialize or close the account, you’ll need to submit legal documents proving you have the authority to act on behalf of your deceased loved one. For LinkedIn, you must submit one of the following:
- Letters of Administration issued by a court
- Letters of Testamentary issued by a court
- Letters of Representation issued by a court
- Other court order appointing the requester as an authorized representative for the deceased member’s estate
Once that’s established, you’ll need the following information to submit your request:
- Member’s full name
- LinkedIn profile link/URL
- Your relationship
- Member’s email address
- Date of their passing
- Copy of the member’s death certificate
The following are NOT considered legal proof to LinkedIn of your authority to act on behalf of your loved one: Birth certificates, marriage certificates, social security cards, driver’s licenses, passports, or other identity documents of the deceased; wills, trusts or power of attorney documents; email authorizations.
Once you have the necessary documentation, contact LinkedIn to submit the request to memorialize or close the account.
What you can do now to prepare
While your loved one is alive, establish a plan ahead of time to avoid unnecessary additional confusion and heartache during the difficult time of their passing.
Talk to your loved one, letting them know you’d like to give them the opportunity to make their wishes regarding their digital legacy clear to friends and loved ones.
Next, create an inventory of social media sites with username and passwords. This can be included in the will if the loved one prefers to keep them confidential until their passing. Keep in mind that in some cases only direct family members can remove or memorialize an account, so it might be best to provide these details to such a person. Don’t forget to designate a Facebook Legacy Contact during this process.
Finally, once you’ve decided how you’d like to approach each account, ensure you have the proper documentation in place to carry out your loved one’s wishes.