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How to Memorialize a Facebook Account
The death of a loved one brings a flood of emotion and a flurry of unhappy activities. Once you move past immediate needs and have time to process your grief, you can handle the less urgent tasks like updating their social media accounts.
When an account holder passes, each platform requires a different set of actions for a family member or estate executor. While Facebook is the most popular choice for memorialization, we've also collected the requirements for Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn in this article to make it easier for you to take care of them all at once.
Facebook Legacy Settings
Facebook offers the ability to set a legacy contact for your main profile. The legacy contact is the only person with the ability to manage certain aspects of a deceased person's profile, including changing the cover photo and profile picture and accepting friend requests on behalf of the memorialized person.
When someone appoints a legacy contact for Facebook, it is best practice to alert that person of the privilege. So, if you have not been notified that you are your loved one's legacy contact, ask other close family members if they know if there is one. Because many people do not even realize this is an option, it is common to not have a legacy contact for a profile.
If a contact was chosen, that person has the responsibilities of notifying Facebook the deceased person has passed away and managing the page. If not, any close friend or family member may notify the platform of their passing. However, no one will be able to manage the page.
For security reasons, documentation is required to request an account be memorialized. Be prepared to submit a copy of the death certificate or another valid confirmation of their passing.
Once your loved one's profile is in Facebook legacy mode, the word "remembering" will be added to their name, content they shared will continue to be available, and depending on their privacy settings, friends may still be able to share memories to their page. Facebook will no longer use their name or image as suggestions for People You May Know, ads, or birthday reminders.
If you're wondering how long it takes to memorialize a Facebook account, there is not a definitive answer from the platform. A banner at the top of its help pages dealing with legacy settings and memorialization requests apologizes for any delays in the process.
If the family members of the deceased prefer, there is an alternative to memorializing the page, and that is to request the account be deleted. Deletion means that their profile will be completely removed from Facebook. This is also an option if you choose to set your own profile's Facebook legacy settings.
How to Memorialize an Instagram Account
Instagram is owned by Meta, the same company that owns Facebook, so the rules for memorialization are similar but not exactly the same.
When an Instagram account is memorialized, everything the person shared to Instagram is still shown to the same audience, the privacy settings do not change, and the word "remembering" is added to their profile name. Anyone can request an Instagram account be memorialized as long as they can provide proof of the deceased person's passing like an obituary or news article. However, only close family members can request deletion of the account.
Like Facebook, Instagram will try to prevent mentions of the deceased in ways that may be hurtful to their family and friends. For example, the profile will no longer show in Explore, and friends are encouraged to report comments about them that go against the platform's terms of use.
What to Do with a Twitter Account
Unfortunately, there is no way to memorialize a Twitter account, but you can request the account be deactivated. Only an official representative of the person's estate or an immediate family member can request account deactivation. Once you submit the request, Twitter will email you instructions for sending the required information to prove you are authorized to make the request. While it may seem cumbersome, providing a copy of the death certificate to Twitter or any other platform is how they avoid acting on fraudulent requests.
How to Memorialize a LinkedIn Account
LinkedIn accounts are memorialized in a way that is similar to Instagram accounts. A close family member or person authorized to act on behalf of the estate can request memorialization. That person will need to submit proof of their authorization and detailed information about the deceased for security reasons.
Once the account is memorialized, the words "in remembrance" will be added to the profile under your loved one's name. LinkedIn does not allow access to the account by anyone – even family – so the profile will remain as it is indefinitely.
You may instead request the account be deleted permanently if that was what your loved one would have wanted. LinkedIn states the process of removing an account may take up to 30 days after it receives the request.
We hope these instructions for memorializing social media accounts will help make the process of honoring your loved one online a bit easier. For a thoughtful way to pay tribute to their memory offline, read our ideas for creating a beautiful memorial garden.
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