Social media can be overwhelming and confusing at times, but when a loved one passes away it's one of the last things you want to worry about. However, some of the most popular social networks offer options to help family members deal with the accounts of their loved ones, from memorialising the account to deleting the account altogether.
Facebook is probably the most common network to deal with but other well-known social media platforms like Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), LinkedIn, Snapchat and Pinterest should also be considered.
Memorialisation
Deleting social media accounts may feel like too much and some social networks, including Facebook and Instagram, offer users the option to memorialise accounts. Doing this gives family members the option to honour the deceased and allow others to post tributes to them without removing the account altogether.
On Facebook, users can actually nominate someone to look after their account in the event that they pass away. This 'legacy contact' will be granted access to some aspects of the account after death. Whilst they'll not be able to add or remove friends, read any private messages or edit any past posts, they'll be able to officially memorialise the account.
When this happens, the deceased's name will be preceded by ‘Remembering’ on their profile, birthday reminders will no longer be sent and the account will be hidden from various recommended sections. Furthermore, friends and family will be able to post on the page in tribute, the legacy contact will be able to write a pinned post for the profile and update the profile and cover photos.
Instagram works similarly, with a process akin to memorialising a Facebook profile. However, there are less options to change the profile after death than with Facebook. On Instagram, no more content can be posted, new likes, comments, posts and tags are also unable to be added. These memorialised profiles are also hidden from the 'Explore' section and other recommended sections.
If you wish to memorialise an account, on either Facebook or Instagram, you'll be required to submit proof of death, usually with a death certificate.
Deleting accounts
Sometimes memorialisation can be an upsetting reminder of a loved one's death and in this case, deleting the account altogether may be a better option.
There are several steps that can be taken in order to delete a social media account. One of the first things that needs to be done is registering the death and many social media networks request a copy of the death certificate or other proof of death before the account will be deleted.
When registering the death, it's wise to get extra copies of the death certificate; you may also need these for other things so it may be best to arrange three or four extra copies. Each extra copy costs between £8 and £12 (depending on where the deceased was resident in the UK) and saves the effort required to get more copies printed in the future.
Before deleting a deceased relative or friend's social media account, be sure to save any content you might want before it's permanently removed. Deleting an account is, more often than not, an irreversible process and any images, posts or other content on the account that you wish to keep will be lost upon removal of the account.
When it comes to requesting the account be deleted, this differs from site to site and will change over time.
Generally, if you look in the help section of the appropriate network and specifically search for deleting accounts after death, you should find all of the necessary information required to submit the request.
In the case that you can't find the right page, you can submit a ticket through the 'Contact Us' section to help find out what you need to know.