What happens to Slack accounts when the owner dies
Slack Technologies, LLC (Salesforce) has a formal process for transferring accounts after an account holder dies
Slack Help Center
Slack Support (workspace ownership transfer when the Primary Owner cannot be reached)
A Primary Owner transfer done from inside the account is immediate. A support-assisted transfer (when the Primary Owner has died or cannot be reached) goes through a review process that Slack states may take time and is not guaranteed to be approved; Slack does not publish a fixed turnaround. Deactivating a member account takes effect immediately.
Slack does not publish a single death policy, because the outcome depends on whether the deceased was a Primary Owner of a workspace or only a member. If the deceased was a Primary Owner, the workspace and its data and billing survive by transferring Primary Ownership to another owner or admin; Slack documents this as a deliberate, controlled transfer rather than an inheritance. Only the Primary Owner can initiate a transfer, and the new owner must already be a workspace member whose account uses an email on the company's domain (personal email addresses cannot receive ownership). When the Primary Owner has died or cannot be reached, a non-owner who is a senior staff member authorized to represent the legal entity that the workspace was created for can contact Slack Support to request the transfer; Slack reviews these requests, notes they may take time, and states they are not guaranteed to be approved. If the deceased was only a member, the relevant action is deactivation by a workspace admin: Slack states that when an account is deactivated, the member's messages and files are not deleted and remain in the workspace, the member is removed from all channels and signed out on all devices, and only a Workspace Primary Owner can later delete that deactivated member's profile information. Message history and files are workspace assets governed by the organization's plan and its export and retention settings, not individually inheritable.
How to request a transfer
To request a transfer of Slack accounts after an account holder's death, follow these steps:
- •Primary Owner of a workspace, account still accessible: have the deceased's sign-in (where lawfully available) used to transfer Primary Ownership before the account is closed.
- •Primary Owner, account not accessible: a senior person authorized to represent the organization contacts Slack Support to request a transfer.
- •Member only: a workspace admin deactivates the account.
- •The new Primary Owner must already be a member of the workspace.
- •Their account must use an email address on the company's domain; Slack cannot transfer ownership to a personal email address.
- •The transfer is immediate; the former Primary Owner's role changes to Owner.
- •The workspace was created for a legal entity (a company or institution), not a personal project.
- •You are a senior staff member authorized to represent that entity.
- •The workspace URL, the current and new owner details, and the new owner's company-domain email.
Required Documents
- Workspace URL (for example, yourcompany.slack.com) for each workspace involved
- The deceased Primary Owner's name and email address on file with Slack
- The new Primary Owner's name and company-domain email address (must already be a member)
- Confirmation that the workspace was created for a legal entity and that the requester is a senior staff member authorized to represent it (for a support-assisted transfer when the Primary Owner cannot be reached)
Timeline
A Primary Owner transfer done from inside the account is immediate. A support-assisted transfer (when the Primary Owner has died or cannot be reached) goes through a review process that Slack states may take time and is not guaranteed to be approved; Slack does not publish a fixed turnaround. Deactivating a member account takes effect immediately.
Frequently asked questions
The workspace, if the deceased was its Primary Owner. A Slack account is just a membership; the asset with value is the workspace itself, which has a single Primary Owner who controls billing, settings, and the workspace. Transferring Primary Ownership to another owner or admin keeps the workspace, its channels, message history, and billing intact. An individual member account that does not own a workspace is simply deactivated.
If the Primary Owner's account is still accessible, the transfer is done from my.slack.com/admin/transfer by selecting a new owner, confirming with the password, and clicking Transfer Workspace Ownership; the change is immediate and the new owner must already be a member using a company-domain email. If the account cannot be accessed, a senior staff member authorized to represent the legal entity the workspace was created for contacts Slack Support to request the transfer. Slack reviews these requests, notes they may take time, and states they are not guaranteed to be approved.
They are not deleted. Slack states that when a member's account is deactivated, their messages and files are not deleted and remain in the workspace; the member is removed from all channels and signed out on all devices. Message history and files belong to the workspace and are governed by the organization's plan and its export and retention settings, not individually inheritable. A Workspace Primary Owner can separately delete a deactivated member's profile details if the organization chooses.
A Workspace Admin or Workspace Owner. In the workspace they open Admin, then Workspace settings, then People, click the three dots next to the member, and select Deactivate account. People are not notified when their accounts are deactivated, and the account cannot be signed back in afterward. Deactivation does not delete the member's messages or files, which remain in the workspace.
A Workspace Owner or Admin can export workspace data, subject to the plan. Public-channel messages and file links export in JSON on any plan; broader exports covering private channels and direct messages are gated to Business+ (by application) and Enterprise Grid. Exports include links to files rather than the files themselves, and on the Free plan cover only the last 90 days. Workspace settings and customizations are not exportable.
After the transfer is complete, the recipient can use the accounts according to the program's standard terms. Document the deceased account holder's details to make this process easier for your executor or family.
Sources
Data sourced from Slack Technologies, LLC (Salesforce) primary sources (8 pages reviewed). How we research.
Slack Help Center
Slack Support (workspace ownership transfer when the Primary Owner cannot be reached)
A Primary Owner transfer done from inside the account is immediate. A support-assisted transfer (when the Primary Owner has died or cannot be reached) goes through a review process that Slack states may take time and is not guaranteed to be approved; Slack does not publish a fixed turnaround. Deactivating a member account takes effect immediately.
