What happens to online accounts when someone dies?

By Michele H., founder of Life on Track

What happens depends on the provider and the choices made for that account. Some subscriptions may continue, some accounts may be affected by inactivity policies, and families may need to request access, closure, or memorialization. A simple record of the accounts and where instructions are kept gives someone you love a clearer place to start.

What actually happens

Online accounts don’t know their owner is gone. Here’s what families typically run into.

Subscriptions keep chargingStreaming, storage, memberships, and auto-renewals keep going until someone finds and cancels them.

Email is often the master keyMany accounts reset through email or a phone number. If the family can’t reach those, they often can’t reach anything else either.

Access takes paperworkMany providers ask for a death certificate and proof that you are the executor or next of kin, and requests can take weeks.

Check each provider’s optionsSome providers offer legacy contacts or inactive-account settings that you can arrange in advance. Others allow a family member or authorized representative to request certain actions afterward. Check the provider’s current instructions and record your preferences and where supporting information is kept. See Google’s inactive-account policy and Facebook’s legacy-contact guidance.

What you can do now, in an afternoon

None of this requires a lawyer or a weekend. Start with the first two; even that puts your family far ahead.

Where offered, set a legacy contact on your main email, phone & photo accounts
Make a simple map of your accounts — where each one lives, not the passwords
Note where recovery happens — which phone number and email address each account resets through
Write down what you’d want done — keep, close, memorialize, download
List the subscriptions that would keep charging — and where they’re managed
Tell one trusted person where the map lives

The pointer rule: record where important papers and access instructions are kept. Before sharing, review the copy and include only what that person needs. Keep passwords in a password manager, and let your map point to it.

A calmer, private way to keep the map

Guided, not a blank page. Private, not another account. The Digital Estate add-on ($39; requires the Family Readiness Toolkit) walks you through accounts, devices, and subscriptions — pointers only — and keeps it on your own device, with printouts ready for the person you trust.

Guided prompts for the accounts people forget
Private by design — your household information stays on your device unless you choose
Printable Digital Estate Summary and Legacy Access Checklist
One-time purchase — no subscription

See pricing Explore the Interactive Sample

More guides

Digital estate planning checklistMap online accounts and devices — without writing down a single password.

Organizing information for aging parentsHow to gather what matters, one calm conversation at a time.

What to put in a family emergency binderA practical checklist — and a simpler way to keep it current.

Start with the free 5-Minute Family Readiness Check

A simple, printable starting point for the information your family would need first — no account required.

Get the free Readiness Check