Feb 14, 2026
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Social media is roughly a quarter-of-a-century old, yet it’s managed to transform everything: from the way we connect with family and friends to updates on news and events and how businesses reach their audiences.
Given its relative recency, most Canadians don’t usually consider what happens to their social media accounts — and digital files — after their death.
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But like everything else, this digital footprint needs a resolution — a framework for what your family and loved ones should do after your death. To help, here are some tips for making a final plan for what to do with your digital accounts on major social media platforms when you eventually log off for good.
Growth of social media platforms and the legalities of ownership
Once seen as the digital play space for young people, there were 5.24 billion social media identities worldwide at the start of 2025 (1), with 31.7 million active social media identities in Canada, alone (2). All of these social media users are aging, yet none of the major platforms seem to have perfected the best way to handle our online digital legacies.
Whether you want to leave a final message, freeze your accounts or delete your profile when you pass away, it's a highly personal decision that's no longer straightforward (or even easy). Thankfully, many estate planners and lawyers have examined the issue and developed general strategies for how to communicate and execute your final wishes for your social media accounts.
To be clear, there’s no single protocol for managing social media after death. Each platform has its own policies, requirements and options. So, in order to execute your wishes, you must first become familiar with how each of the major social media platforms treats your account upon your death.
Facebook is the largest social media network in the world, with more than 3.07 billion active monthly users (3). Of course, there are also a lot of “inactive” users, and that number grows as the platform ages. In fact, a 2019 study by Oxford researchers (4) analyzed the possible future of Facebook accounts and based on the current rate of growth (and death), there could be 4.9 billion deceased people with accounts on the Facebook platform by 2100. With no new growth, the dead might outnumber the living by 2070.
If you want to take charge of your Facebook legacy, you can set up your account to delete once you die — but you must set this up while you’re alive. While the exact steps may change slightly, in general, you would log in and go to the Privacy section and explore the Memorialization settings, where there’s an option to request full account deletion upon your passing. At the same time, you can also name your legacy contact — a person tasked with managing your account after you die. This person will have limited control of your account. For instance they can pin posts, set profile pictures, download and even request that your account be deleted.
Accounts without a legacy contact and not marked for automatic deletion become memorialized, which means the content remains visible to the audience with which it was originally shared. The word “Remembering” appears next to your name on Facebook.
Instagram has a memorialization function like its parent company, Facebook, but it’s not activated automatically. Your account can be memorialized by request. Note that the person who makes the request must show proof of death like an obituary or death certificate.
A family member can also request that your account be entirely removed, but Instagram requires the birth and death certificates or proof of authority over the deceased person's estate. Keep in mind, though, that Instagram will not provide login credentials, so if your wish is to have someone take over your account with full editorial ability, your best bet is to share your login and password as part of your estate documents.
X (formerly known as Twitter)
When you die, your X account lives on, unless a family member or authorized person requests that it be deactivated.
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To make the request, this person must supply your death certificate. There is no option to take over account access, so, as with Instagram, you should share your passwords with a legacy contact if you want them to be able to tweet from your profile.
TikTok
TikTok’s policy for the accounts of deceased people is unclear. Some report the ability to deactivate a deceased person’s account on request, but this option is not confirmed (5). Your best bet for your TikTok account is to select a legacy contact and supply them with your passwords and your wishes. That way, they can take over or delete your account when you pass away.
YouTube
As YouTube accounts are typically connected to a Google profile, you can use the Inactive Account Manager (6) to make decisions about who to notify and what to share or if the account should be deleted. Keep in mind, you need to specify the period of inactivity in order for this option to become available. If you don’t set this up beforehand, your immediate family members or an authorized representative can request to obtain data from your account or deactivate it altogether, but they’ll have to verify their identity and provide a copy of your death certificate. (One final consideration, Google does state that the platform has the right to delete any account after prolonged activity.)
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Managing social media after death
Aside from the deletion or control of social media accounts, many Canadians are looking for easier, more cost-effective ways to establish their end-of-life wishes. One option that has grown in popularity over the last decade is the use of online legal wills. When compared to the standard process of creating a will — typically through an estate planning attorney — online wills are relatively inexpensive and easy to create. (If you want more information, read the Money.ca comprehensive guide to estate planning before you get started.)
For instance, in just 20 minutes, you can create a legally-binding will from anywhere in Canada using the online portal from Epilogue. That means in less time than it takes to get an oil-change, you could prepare a legally-binding will as well as Power of Attorney documents, affidavits of execution, along with other estate planning tools.
Not ready to sit down and finalize your estate documents? Not to worry, Epilogue offers a Social Media Will kit that helps you plan and prepare how to handle your social media accounts — and it's free! Sign up for Epilogue today
Epilogue does not provide legal or any other professional advice, such as accounting, or tax advice. Prices do not include tax.
Why would I care about what happens to my social media accounts?
All of this begs the question: why would I care about this if I’m dead?
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Some people might not have strong feelings about their digital profiles once they're gone, but for many others, their social media accounts are a way to track, record and keep important moments — a modern-day version of a diary. In these cases, it’s wise to ensure that your family or friends have access and control.
Even if you don't have strong feelings about the use of your digital presence once you are dead, there is one another reason for setting up a plan for your social media accounts: Identity theft. An insufficiently protected account could be hacked. From there, an intruder could potentially mine everything from your email address to your name, birthday, and image. And while this might not concern you (after all, you’d be dead, right?), it could cause massive headaches for your surviving loved ones.
Whatever your reasons, it’s important to be proactive about what you want to happen with your social media accounts after death.
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Read more: The ultra-rich are bailing on volatile stocks right now — these 4 shockproof assets are their new safe havens
Social media account FAQs
What happens to Instagram accounts when someone dies?
It depends. There is no automatic memorialization function in Instagram, but if a family member or legal representative contacts the platform with proof of the deceased, they can request it. They can also ask that the account be removed completely.
Does Facebook delete accounts once a person is deceased?
No, Facebook does not determine what happens to your account — you do. You can preemptively opt to have the account deleted by going to Privacy settings. Or you can name a legacy contact to take over the account for you. If you don’t select either of these settings, the account will be automatically memorialized, which means that your posts will still be visible to the audience with which it was originally shared and the word “Remembering” will appear after your name.
What do you do with online accounts when someone dies?
What you do to manage social media accounts after death is up to you. If you’re thinking about what to do with your own accounts, you could consider posting a final message (right now, this is only available with Facebook), naming someone to take over your accounts, or completely deleting your accounts. If you’re in charge of a deceased person’s account, you would want to follow their wishes.
Final word
Your social media accounts are probably pretty low on the list of things you think you need to think about when it comes to end-of-life planning. But consider this: your posts, pictures, and even comments on other people’s posts make up a detailed picture of one part of your life. Your family and friends might want to remember you by visiting your page, or perhaps you’d prefer to delete that material after you die.
Whatever your final wishes, being proactive now can simplify the process. Use free resources — such as the free Social Media Will — and take control.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Datareportal (1, 2); Meta Investor Relations (3); Oxford (4); Military Spouse (5); YouTube (6)
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Keph Senett is a Canadian freelance writer whose areas of expertise include personal finance, travel and sports. When not writing, she spends her free time trying to figure out how to qualify for a soccer squad in Asia, Australia, or Antarctica.
