What happens to your Facebook when you die

Disclaimer: This post is strictly for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult an attorney regarding their specific legal situation, as it may require more complex analysis or additional information. Also, keep in mind that Facebook’s policies discussed below are subject to change at any time.

Nearly everyone has a Facebook account these days. In fact, almost a third of humanity is on the platform.

If you’ve been on Facebook for a while, you’ve likely encountered the profile of someone who has died. Current estimates claim that over 8,000 Facebook users die each day, and this phenomenon will likely grow in the years to come. In theory, that’s over 2,920,000 users each year and 29,200,000 each decade. By one statistician’s estimate, deceased people on Facebook will outnumber the living by the turn of the century.

In many cases, little attention is paid to an account once the person dies. It stays open, which can stir mixed emotions for families. Facebook tends to send reminders for birthdays or friendship milestones, and those reminders can be painful when they call to mind a deceased loved one.

Most of our clients have implemented an estate plan that includes a trust and/or a will. As a result, they have responsible individuals managing their affairs after death—called “fiduciaries.” As we’ll discuss below, fiduciaries have the power to ask Facebook to shut accounts down.

As an estate planning law firm, we believe you should have more say over what happens to your Facebook account when you pass away. In this post, we hope to illuminate some of your options.

Choose to Have Your Account Deleted Upon Death

The quickest, easiest option is to tell Facebook to permanently delete your account after you pass away. Once your family or fiduciaries notify Facebook of your death, Facebook can permanently delete the account. To set this up, log into Facebook and complete the following steps:

1. Click in the top right of Facebook and select Settings
2. Click Manage Account
3. Click Request Account Deletion
4. Click Delete After Death in the pop-up box

Again, this is the quickest and easiest option. The drawback: your family may lose memories of you—posts, photos, and the like—if your profile is deleted before they can save those items.

Do Nothing and Have Your Account Memorialized

If you don’t tell Facebook to delete your profile, Facebook will “memorialize” your account once notified of your passing by your family or fiduciaries.

A memorialized account stays active, but it changes in the following ways, per Facebook:

• The word “Remembering” appears next to your name on your profile
• Depending on the account’s privacy settings, friends can share memories on the memorialized timeline
• Content you shared (for example, photos and posts) stays on Facebook and remains visible to the audience it was shared with
• Memorialized profiles don’t appear in public spaces such as People You May Know suggestions, ads, or birthday reminders
• No one can log into a memorialized account

Choose a Legacy Contact and Have Your Account Memorialized

Although no one can log into a memorialized account, Facebook lets you nominate a “legacy contact” who can manage your memorialized account through their own login. For example, a legacy contact can write a pinned post for your profile (perhaps to share a final message), respond to new friend requests, and update your profile and cover photos.

Here are a few things to know about the legacy contact. First, because of Facebook’s strict privacy policies, no one else can do these things to a memorialized account. Second, Facebook will not appoint a legacy contact after you’ve passed away, even if an estate fiduciary or your family asks. So you must appoint a legacy contact while you’re still alive. Third, your legacy contact must be a Facebook user, and they must accept the role.

To add a legacy contact:

1. Click in the top right of Facebook and select Settings
2. Click Manage Account
3. Type in a friend’s name and click Add
4. To let your friend know they’re now your legacy contact, click Send

Memorialized Accounts Can Still Be Deleted

Memorialized accounts can still be deleted. It’s easy for your legacy contact to do—they simply log in and choose to delete the account.

If you have an estate plan with our firm, the Michigan Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act gives your fiduciaries the ability to reach out to Facebook and have your memorialized account deleted. Your fiduciaries just have to submit proof of their authority and of your passing (click here for details).

Interestingly, according to interpretations of that Act, a legacy contact’s authority overrides the authority of your estate plan fiduciaries when it comes to managing your Facebook account. If you have an estate plan with our firm and wish to nominate a legacy contact, keep this in mind. To make things simpler, for example, you may want your Facebook legacy contact and your trustee to be the same person. Or you may prefer a different person managing your Facebook page. It’s up to you.

Although most of our readers have estate plans, here’s the fallback: if you pass away without an estate plan or legacy contact, your verifiable immediate family members can also contact Facebook and request that your memorialized page be taken down.

Legacy Contacts and Fiduciaries Cannot Read Your Private Messages

Worried about someone rummaging through your private Facebook messages? Keep in mind that Facebook’s current policy is to let no one—including your legacy contact—read your messages. Facebook also currently does not let anyone log in as you, remove your friends, or remove or change past posts, photos, and other things shared on your timeline. That’s worth remembering as you decide the fate of your account.

Summary

Ultimately, you must decide how your Facebook account should be handled after death. Some may choose to have their profile deleted. But we imagine many would be more comfortable with memorialization. Your profile stays up, people can save your pictures (perhaps for a memorial service), and your legacy contact, your fiduciaries, or your family can work with Facebook to take the profile down later.

If you want a specific person to manage your memorialized account, it’s best to use Facebook’s legacy contact feature. Facebook gives a legacy contact a bit more flexibility than it gives your fiduciaries or immediate family.

Finally, remember that Facebook will only act on deletion or memorialization once it’s contacted. If you have an estate plan, you likely have responsible individuals managing your affairs, and they’ll probably remember to contact Facebook. Still, it might not hurt to leave a reminder.