Digital Legacy in Canada: What Happens to Your Online Accounts After Death?

Written by , founder of Solexi.ai.

A Canadian family dealing with a death rarely gets stuck on the will. They get stuck on the phone, the inbox and the cloud account holding twenty years of photographs. Canadian law on fiduciary access to digital assets is uneven from one province to the next, and the platforms apply their own global rules on top of it.

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What is a digital legacy?

A digital legacy is everything a person leaves behind that exists only as data: email, cloud storage, photographs and videos, social profiles, subscriptions, loyalty balances, online banking and investment portals, domain names, a small business account, sometimes cryptocurrency. Some of it carries financial value. Most of it carries memory value, which no estate inventory measures.

What makes it different from a house or a bank account is that it is held under a service agreement with a company, usually in another country, and protected by security controls designed specifically to keep unrecognized people out.

What happens to online accounts after death?

Nothing happens automatically. An account does not close itself, does not transfer itself and does not notify anyone. It keeps running, sometimes keeps charging, and eventually reacts to inactivity according to whatever policy the provider publishes.

When a relative contacts the provider, the outcome depends entirely on that provider: full data export in narrow circumstances, memorialization, closure only, or a refusal to act without a court order. Solexi maintains a maintained directory of those published processes so a family does not have to discover them one at a time.

  • Accounts continue to exist and bill until someone acts.
  • Each provider defines its own proof requirements and its own outcome.
  • Some providers only ever close an account; they never grant access.
  • Provider-native tools set up in advance produce far better outcomes.

Why the rules can differ across Canada

Succession and fiduciary powers are provincial matters, so there is no single Canadian answer. The Uniform Law Conference of Canada drafted the Uniform Access to Digital Assets by Fiduciaries Act as a model for the provinces to adopt, but adoption has been partial and uneven, which is precisely why an executor in one province can face a different situation than one next door.

The practical consequence for a family is simple: never assume that being named executor is enough to obtain access to an account. Confirm the current position in the relevant province with a lawyer or notary, and prepare the practical side in parallel.

  • Estate and fiduciary rules are set province by province.
  • The uniform model act has not been adopted everywhere.
  • Quebec civil law and common-law provinces do not treat these questions identically.
  • Platform terms of service still apply regardless of provincial law.

What families may need to locate

The list below is what Canadian families most often have to reconstruct from scratch, usually while grieving and against a deadline set by a bank, a landlord or a card issuer.

  • Email accounts — the recovery hub for nearly everything else.
  • Cloud storage — where the only copy of the photographs usually lives.
  • Photos and videos — often spread across a phone, a laptop and two services.
  • Social media — memorialization, deletion or continued operation.
  • Subscriptions — recurring charges that survive the cardholder.
  • Financial and digital assets — brokerage portals, digital-only banks, crypto.

Platform legacy tools you can set up today

The three providers most Canadian households depend on all publish a mechanism that must be configured while the account holder is alive and able. Setting them up takes minutes and changes the outcome more than any document written afterwards.

  • Google Inactive Account Manager: decides what happens after a set period of inactivity.
  • Apple Digital Legacy: names a Legacy Contact who can request account data.
  • Meta legacy contact: designates who manages a memorialized Facebook profile.
  • Note which of your accounts offer nothing of the kind — that gap is the real risk.

Why access and ownership are not the same thing

An estate may well own the value of a digital asset while nobody alive can reach it. Ownership is a legal conclusion; access is a technical event that requires a credential, a device, a second factor and a provider willing to proceed. A will can transfer the first and remain completely silent on the second.

This is the gap Solexi is built for. It is not a legal instrument and does not try to be one — it is the practical record that tells the people you trust what exists, where it lives and what you want done with it.

Preparing a digital inventory

An inventory is a map, not a keyring. It names what exists, where it is held, who to contact and what should happen — without ever becoming a document that would be dangerous if it were found or, worse, filed with a will that becomes public on probate.

  • List accounts, providers and the email address each one is tied to.
  • Record where the photographs and documents actually live.
  • Note recurring charges and how they are billed.
  • Keep credentials and recovery keys separate, in a password manager.
  • Never write passwords into a will.

What to discuss with an estate professional

Bring the inventory to the appointment. It shortens the conversation and lets the professional deal with the questions only they can answer: how digital assets should be described in the will, who should be named, what authority a mandate or power of attorney grants during incapacity, and how provincial rules apply to your situation.

Pricing, in plain words

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Frequently asked questions

Does my executor automatically get access to my online accounts in Canada?

No. Executor authority comes from provincial law and the will, while access is granted by each provider under its own terms. Some provinces have adopted the uniform model act on fiduciary access and others have not, so confirm the position that applies to you with a lawyer or notary.

Can I put my passwords in my will?

You should not. A will can become a public document through probate, and passwords change. Keep credentials in a password manager and use the will for legal instructions, not for secrets.

Do platform legacy tools work in Canada?

Yes — tools such as Google Inactive Account Manager, Apple Digital Legacy and the Facebook legacy contact are global features available to Canadian account holders, but each one must be configured in advance by the account holder.

Is Solexi.ai a legal service?

No. Solexi.ai organizes practical digital information, memories and instructions. It does not provide legal advice and does not replace a lawyer, notary or estate professional.

Sources & Further Reading

The organizations, researchers and professionals referenced on this page do not necessarily endorse, partner with or have any relationship with Solexi.ai. They are cited as independent sources documenting issues related to digital legacy and continuity.

Last reviewed : 2026-08-26

Solexi does not replace a legal will, a notary or a lawyer. Solexi helps you gather, organize and pass on your information.

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