How to Memorialize a Facebook Account After Someone Dies

What Memorialization Actually Does

When Facebook memorializes an account, the word "Remembering" appears before the person's name. The profile stays visible to the audience allowed by its privacy settings — people can still post memories on the timeline where those settings permit — but nobody can log in to it, and it stops appearing in birthday reminders and ads.

A designated Legacy Contact (someone the account holder chose before death) can write a pinned post, respond to friend requests, and update the profile picture. They cannot read private messages or remove existing content.

If no Legacy Contact was set up, the memorialized profile cannot be managed by a Legacy Contact. Friends may still post memories where the account's privacy settings permit.

How to Request Memorialization

You do not need to be a family member to request it. Facebook accepts memorialization requests from anyone, though proof of death speeds the process.

1. Go to Facebook's Memorialization Request form
2. Enter the deceased person's name and the URL of their profile
3. Upload documentation — an obituary link, death announcement, or death certificate
4. Submit the form

Facebook reviews requests manually; its published help does not state a standard processing time.

How to Delete a Facebook Account Instead

An immediate family member or executor can request permanent deletion instead of memorialization. This is irreversible; the profile is removed, but messages already sent to other people may remain in their inboxes.

To request deletion:

1. Go to the Special Request for Deceased Person's Account form
2. Provide a certified death certificate
3. Provide proof of your relationship to the deceased (marriage certificate, birth certificate, or court documents showing executor authority)
4. Submit the request

Facebook verifies the documentation before proceeding. You cannot undo a deletion once it goes through, so download any photos or posts you want to keep first.

What About Instagram

Instagram is owned by Meta and follows a similar process. You can memorialize an Instagram account by submitting a request through Instagram's memorialization form, providing the same documentation: a death certificate, obituary, or news article confirming the death.

Memorialized Instagram accounts are locked — no one can log in or edit content, and the account does not appear in Explore or recommendations. The account stays visible to existing followers.

To delete an Instagram account after death, an immediate family member or executor must submit a certified death certificate and proof of authority through Instagram's separate removal request form.

Common Complications

No access to the email on file. Facebook sends confirmation emails to the address linked to the account. If the deceased's email provider has already closed the account, let Facebook know in the request form — they can sometimes work around it.

The account was already hacked. If a scammer took over the profile after death (this happens — criminals scrape obituaries), report the account as compromised first, then submit the memorialization or deletion request separately.

Multiple family members disagree. Facebook does not mediate family disputes over whether to memorialize or delete. Do not assume that the first request decides the outcome; resolve the choice before submitting. Deletion is permanent.

The Bigger Picture

Facebook and Instagram are just two platforms in what can be a sprawling digital estate. The average person has dozens of active accounts — email, cloud storage, subscriptions, cryptocurrency exchanges — each with its own closure process and documentation requirements.

The Digital Estate Toolkit walks you through every major platform's process, from social media memorialization to password manager recovery and crypto exchange claims, with the exact documents and communication scripts you need for each one.