Online accounts after a death: what to know

After a death, online accounts keep running: mailboxes, social profiles, subscriptions, photo libraries. Here is what relatives can actually do, and what to prepare now so they are not left with months of paperwork.

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What happens when nothing was arranged

Accounts stay active. Subscriptions keep charging. Photos kept only in the cloud become unreachable because nobody knows which email address was used or how sign-in was protected.

The hard part is rarely legal, it is practical: relatives do not know which accounts exist. You cannot close or recover something you never knew about.

The tools the major platforms already provide

Several services offer an official mechanism you switch on while you are alive. They are free and take a few minutes each.

  • Google: Inactive Account Manager lets you name contacts and choose what they receive.
  • Apple: a Legacy Contact can access account data after your death.
  • Facebook and Instagram: a legacy contact can manage a memorialized profile.
  • Most other services: they ask for a death certificate and close the account without handing over content.

Never leave a plain list of passwords

A password file in a drawer or an email is an immediate risk, and it goes out of date the first time a password changes.

What genuinely helps relatives is the list of accounts that matter and what to do about them: which service, what it is for, which email is attached, who should handle it. The credentials themselves belong in a password manager built for that job.

Cover the essentials in one hour

List the accounts with real consequences: the one that receives your email, the ones holding your photos, the ones taking money, the ones storing documents.

Then state your intention for each: keep, pass on, close. That written intention, more than technical access, is what lets your family act without hesitating.

Pricing, in plain words

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Frequently asked questions

What happens to online accounts after someone dies?

They stay active until someone reports the death. Each platform then applies its own process: closure, memorialization, or limited transfer to a contact named in advance.

Can a relative access my email account?

Not automatically. Without a legacy contact set up while you are alive, access is usually refused even to close family, and appeals take months.

Should I write my passwords down somewhere?

No. Record which accounts exist and what should happen to them. Passwords belong in a dedicated manager, with its emergency access prepared separately.

How does Solexi help here?

Solexi lets you record the list of accounts that matter, what each one is for and your wishes for it, then decide who will be able to read that information when the time comes.

Sources & Further Reading

Last reviewed : 2026-08-18

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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