What to Do With a Deceased Person's Social Media Accounts

Seeing a deceased loved one's profile pop up in your feed — a birthday reminder, a "People You May Know" suggestion, a tagged memory — is jarring. But before you rush to delete their accounts, there's a decision to make: memorialize or remove?

Each platform handles it differently, and some decisions are permanent.

Memorialize vs. Delete: The Core Decision

Memorialization preserves the profile as a tribute. Whether friends can post memories depends on the platform and the account's settings. The account stays visible, and no one can log in; what a Legacy Contact can change is limited. This is the right choice when family and friends want a place to remember the person publicly.

Deletion removes the account, but what happens to associated posts, photos, and messages depends on the platform. Some account deletions are irreversible. Choose this when privacy is the priority or when the account is attracting spam, impersonation, or unwanted contact.

There's no single deadline to decide, but don't wait too long. Inactive accounts can attract impersonators, and some platforms delete data after extended inactivity.

Facebook

Memorialize: Anyone can report a profile for memorialization by submitting proof of death (obituary link, death certificate, or news article). A designated Legacy Contact — if the deceased set one up — can manage the memorialized profile: write pinned posts, respond to friend requests, and update the profile photo. The Legacy Contact cannot read private messages or log in.

Delete: Only an immediate family member or executor can request permanent deletion. You'll need a certified death certificate and proof of your relationship or legal authority.

Instagram

Instagram follows Facebook's system (both are Meta):

• Memorialize: Submit a memorialization request with proof of death. The account gets a "Remembering" label, disappears from public recommendations, and locks against edits.
• Delete: Requires a death certificate and proof of relationship or legal authority from an immediate family member or executor.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn offers a "Remembering" badge on memorialized profiles:

• Memorialize: Report the profile through LinkedIn's support page with the deceased's name and an obituary link.
• Delete: Submit the Deceased Member Verification form with a death certificate and proof of legal authority. Once deleted, the connection list and all profile data are permanently gone.

X (Twitter)

X does not offer memorialization. The only option is deactivation and deletion:

• Submit a request through X's support portal
• Provide your government-issued ID and a certified death certificate
• X does not grant any third-party access to the account — you won't be able to download tweets, messages, or media

Reddit and Snapchat

Reddit: Deletion only. Submit the deceased's name, profile link, proof of relationship, and a death certificate. Deleting the account removes the profile and unlinks the username, but posts, comments, messages, and chats remain unless they are deleted first.

Snapchat: Deletion only. Report through Snapchat support under "A person has passed away" with the username and death certificate. No access to stored snaps or messages.

Important Order of Operations

Before requesting any deletion:

1. Download sentimental content — photos, posts, messages you want to keep
2. Check linked accounts — Pinterest requires deletion before you delete any linked Google, Facebook, or X account it was connected to
3. Screenshot anything you might need for estate or legal purposes
4. Notify close friends before a memorialization goes live, so the "Remembering" badge doesn't catch them off guard

Handling Unwanted Contact

If the deceased's profile is being targeted by scammers, impersonators, or abusive messages, use the platform's deceased-user or abuse-report process and provide proof of death or authority when requested. Review requirements and processing are platform-specific.

The Digital Estate Toolkit includes the complete social media triage protocol with direct links to major platforms' deceased-user processes, plus template language for the documentation each one requires.