What happens to an Instagram account when someone dies
Meta Platforms publishes its own process for a deceased person's account; a request goes in through Meta Platforms' online form.
Meta Platforms decides what happens to an Instagram account after a death case by case; its terms promise no transfer.
Meta Platforms publishes its own process for a deceased person's account: Report a deceased person's profile on Instagram (memorialization or removal request); a request goes in through Meta Platforms' online form. The request takes 5 documents.
How to request a transfer
- •Memorialization: use the contact us link and give proof of death, such as a link to an obituary or news article.
- •Removal: use the removal form and send the birth or death certificate, or letters testamentary or letters of administration.
- •Give the username and profile URL, and a photocopy of the requester's ID.
Required Documents
- Proof of death: to memorialize a profile. Such as a link to an obituary or news article.
- The deceased person's birth certificate or death certificate: for removal, as proof that the requester is an immediate family member
- Proof of authority under local law: for removal, in place of the birth or death certificate. Such as letters testamentary, letters of administration, or a will naming the requester as executor, showing the requester is the lawful representative of the deceased person or their estate.
- Government-issued ID of the requester: Meta's deceased-account forms ask for a photocopy to verify identity.
- The deceased person's Instagram username: With the profile URL, when available.
What Meta Platforms, Inc.'s terms say at death
- The terms
“No one can log into a memorialized profile. The word Remembering will be shown next to the person's name on their profile. Posts the deceased person shared, including photos and videos, stay on Instagram and are visible to the audience they were shared with. Memorialized profiles don't appear in certain places on Instagram, like Explore.”1
What Meta Platforms, Inc. says happens8
- Memorialization
Memorialized profiles that do not have a legacy contact cannot be changed: not the photos or videos on the profile, the comments on those posts, the privacy settings, the current profile photo, or followers and people followed.1
Instagram requires proof of death, such as a link to an obituary or news article, to memorialize a profile, and anyone who reports the profile can supply it.2
Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp identities are linked through Meta's Accounts Center, but memorialization and deletion are decided per product.2
- Closing the account
Verified immediate family members may request permanent removal of the profile, with proof of the relationship or proof of authority under local law as the lawful representative of the deceased person or their estate.2
- Deletion and data retention
Where the holder selected Delete After Death in advance, Instagram deletes the profile once it receives a valid memorialization request. Deletion cannot be undone, and unselecting Delete After Death requires selecting a legacy contact.1, 3
- Passwords and login
Instagram does not provide login information for a memorialized profile to anyone.1
- Disclosure of account content
A legacy contact can download a copy of content the person shared on Instagram only where the account holder granted that permission in advance; a legacy contact cannot see the person's messages.4
- Court orders and legal process
Where Meta considers a request for a deceased person's content, on its Facebook Help Center, it requires proof that the requester is an authorized representative, such as a family member, and a court order.5
Instagram's law-enforcement guidelines state that a search warrant is required to compel disclosure of the stored contents of any account.6
- How requests are reviewed
Meta reviews memorialization and removal requests on a rolling basis and may ask for additional documentation.2
- Continuing a shop, channel or listing
On a creator or business account, followers, the Instagram Shop and any monetization, such as Reels bonuses, gifts or branded-content earnings, are tied to the account and to the linked payout method.2
Forms Instagram uses2
- Memorialization request form
Asking Instagram to memorialize a deceased person's profile, opened from the contact us link on the Report a deceased person's profile page.2
Completed online.
- Removal request form
Asking Instagram to permanently remove a deceased person's profile, linked as "fill out this form" on the Report a deceased person's profile page.2
Completed by a verified immediate family member or the lawful representative of the deceased person or their estate. Completed online.
Other companies and product lines involved1
- Facebook / Meta
The Facebook profile, Facebook Legacy Contact, Meta Pay, ad accounts and Facebook creator earnings2
Not in Instagram's published guidance7
- How long a request takes
- A mailing address for a written request
- A phone number for this
- A deadline for submitting a memorialization or removal request
- A hold on the profile while the estate is opened
- A route for family or an executor to obtain the profile's content
- An estate-claims process for unreceived creator earnings
A written request to Meta Platforms can ask it to memorialize the account, close the account and preserve the account while the estate is opened.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter for Instagram drafts that request from the estate's details.
Sources
Data sourced from Meta Platforms, Inc. primary sources (8 pages reviewed). How we research.
Instagram estate claims
Report a deceased person's profile
Website
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