What Happens to Your Digital Life When You Die

Last verified July 30, 2026.

Sit down and try to list every online account you have. Most people can't finish. Email, social media, streaming services, cloud storage, online banking, subscription boxes, loyalty programs, cryptocurrency wallets, and dozens of apps you downloaded once and forgot about.

When you die, none of these accounts automatically close. None of them automatically transfer to your heirs ^[4]. Most of them will simply sit there, accumulating charges, holding memories, and creating complications for the people you leave behind.

Digital estate planning is one of the most overlooked aspects of end-of-life preparation. This is what happens to your digital life when you die, and what you can do about it.

Facebook/Instagram (Meta): Facebook allows you to designate a "Legacy Contact". Someone who can manage your memorialized account after your death. They can write a pinned post, respond to friend requests, and update your profile picture, but they can’t read your private messages or remove your timeline posts ^[1].

Alternatively, you can request that your account be permanently deleted after your death. Without either of these settings, your account will remain active indefinitely unless a family member requests memorialization or removal ^[1].

Instagram works differently. In the US there’s no legacy contact and nothing you can set up in advance. After someone dies, anyone can ask Instagram to memorialize the profile with proof of death, such as a link to an obituary or a news article. Verified immediate family can ask for the profile to be removed instead, which takes documents like a birth certificate, a death certificate, or proof you’re the lawful representative. Instagram won’t hand over login details either way ^[5].

X (formerly Twitter): X doesn’t memorialize accounts. A family member can request account deactivation with proof of death, but the account can’t be transferred or managed by someone else.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn has two options. Anyone can report a member as deceased and LinkedIn memorializes the profile. Closing the account instead takes court-issued letters of administration, testamentary, or representation. Either way the account is locked, and LinkedIn won’t release the username or password to anyone.

TikTok: TikTok doesn’t have a formal legacy or memorialization process. Family members can report the account for removal.

Gmail/Google: Google's Inactive Account Manager allows you to designate what happens to your account after a period of inactivity. You can choose to have it deleted or to share specific data with designated people ^[2]. Without this setting, Google can delete an account after two years of inactivity ^[7], and your family may lose access to years of email, photos stored in Google Photos, and documents in Google Drive.

Apple iCloud: Apple introduced a Digital Legacy feature in 2021 that allows you to designate legacy contacts who can access your iCloud data after your death ^[3]. Without one, family can still request access, but Apple verifies legal documentation first: generally a death certificate, and in the US a court order naming you as the rightful inheritor of the account ^[3]. Apple’s own advice is to name a legacy contact so nobody has to go to court for your photos.

Microsoft: Microsoft won’t give family access at all without a court order or subpoena. If you have the person’s credentials you can close the account yourself. If you don’t, the account closes automatically after two years of inactivity ^[6].

The practical implication: if you store irreplaceable photos in the cloud, set up legacy contacts now. If you don't, your family may not be able to access them.

Online banking and investment accounts are governed by the same rules as traditional financial accounts. They pass to beneficiaries or through the estate. The difference is access: if your family doesn't know the accounts exist, they may not be discovered. A list of all financial accounts, including online-only banks and investment platforms, is essential.

Cryptocurrency held in a self-custodied wallet is controlled through its keys. If no authorized person can locate and safely use the recovery method, the asset may become inaccessible. A court order can’t recreate a lost private key or seed phrase.

Cryptocurrency held on exchanges (like Coinbase or Kraken) is somewhat more accessible, exchanges typically have a process for transferring assets to an estate, but it still requires your family to know the account exists and to navigate the exchange's verification process.

If you hold cryptocurrency, document that the asset exists, give the appropriate fiduciary legal authority, and use a security design suited to the value and the people who may need to operate it. Do not put a private key or seed phrase in a will, email, ordinary inventory, or online planning tool. A qualified estate attorney and security professional can help separate legal authority from technical recovery.

Recurring charges are the ones that outlast people. Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, meal kit deliveries, gym memberships, software subscriptions, news sites. Every one of them keeps billing until somebody cancels it.

After a death, families often discover subscriptions they didn't know about when reviewing bank statements. This is one reason why a complete list of financial accounts and recurring charges is so valuable. Each service sets its own cancellation, authority, document, refund, and data-retention rules. Ask for the provider's current deceased-customer process before sending a certified record.

Loyalty points and rewards, airline miles, hotel points, credit card rewards, vary widely in their transferability. Some programs allow transfer to a beneficiary; others expire at death. Check the terms of any significant loyalty programs you participate in.

A basic digital inventory can start quickly, while legal authority and secure recovery may require more work.

Create a "digital assets inventory" that includes: a list of all significant online accounts, the email address associated with each, and instructions for what you want done with each account. Store this document securely, a password manager, an encrypted file, or a physical document in a safe, and tell your executor or a trusted person where to find it.

Separately, review the current legacy or inactive-account settings on the platforms that support them. These tools can simplify a later request, but access still depends on the platform settings, required proof, governing law, and the data involved.

For cryptocurrency, consult an estate planning attorney who has experience with digital assets. The stakes are too high for improvisation.

Your digital life is part of your estate. Treat it that way: it has its own line on the end-of-life checklist, next to the documents your family will need.