Updated July 2026.
Almost every estate now includes online accounts. Photos on iCloud, email on Gmail, a Facebook profile, a Kindle library, a subscription or two. Getting into these accounts as an executor is possible, but it takes the right paperwork and the right form.
Three companies now let you pre-designate someone to receive your account after you die. If you set these up now, your executor will save weeks and thousands of dollars in legal fees later.
If you’re reading this as an executor and none of these were set up, keep reading. There is a path for each one, but it is harder.
Apple’s Digital Legacy program is the fastest path to a deceased person’s iCloud data.
If a Legacy Contact was designated, they go to digital-legacy.apple.com, submit the access key that was shared with them, and upload a death certificate. Apple issues a special Apple ID that gives read-only access to iCloud photos, Drive files, Mail, Notes, Reminders, Messages, Contacts, Calendars, Voice Memos, Safari bookmarks, and device backups. The access period is limited (Apple’s docs describe it as up to three years) after which the account is permanently deleted. Not available under Legacy Contact: purchased movies, music, books, apps, subscriptions, or anything in iCloud Keychain (passwords, passkeys, payment methods).
If no Legacy Contact was designated, Apple requires a court order that names the requester, confirms the decedent owned the account, and directs Apple to release the data. Budget for a lawyer.
Help pages: support.apple.com/en-us/102631 (setup), support.apple.com/en-us/102570 (survivor path).
Two options, chosen by the requester.
Memorialize the account. Anyone with proof of death can request this at facebook.com/help/contact/234739086860192. Facebook adds “Remembering” before the name. Existing posts stay visible to the original audience. Nobody can log in. Birthday reminders and “people you may know” suggestions stop. If the deceased had a Legacy Contact, that person can now pin a tribute post, respond to friend requests, and update the profile photo. Legacy contacts cannot read Messenger.
Remove the account or download the data. Only verified immediate family or an estate representative can request this, at facebook.com/help/contact/228813257197480. Facebook asks for a death certificate plus proof of authority (birth certificate showing relation, will, letters testamentary, or power of attorney).
Facebook will never provide the password.
Same parent company as Facebook, similar options, separate process. Instagram does not offer a legacy contact feature.
Memorialize at help.instagram.com/contact/452224988254813 with a link to an obituary or news article. The profile is preserved but locked.
Remove at help.instagram.com/contact/1474899482730688. Only immediate family, with the deceased’s birth certificate and death certificate, or letters testamentary.
Instagram will not provide login access or release data to anyone.
WhatsApp has no legacy feature and does not memorialize.
If you have the phone and SIM, open WhatsApp, then Settings, then Account, then Delete My Account. This is immediate and irreversible and removes the number from all groups.
If you don’t have the phone, submit at whatsapp.com/contact stating that the account belongs to a deceased user. Include the phone number in full international format, a death certificate, and proof you are a lawful representative. WhatsApp is slow to respond, and any account with 120 days of no activity is deleted automatically along with all backups. In many cases waiting is faster than requesting.
End-to-end encryption means WhatsApp cannot release chat history under any circumstances.
If Inactive Account Manager was set up, Google notifies the designated contacts when the inactivity threshold is hit, verifies each of them by SMS, and shares the data buckets the account holder chose in advance.
If IAM was not set up, use the troubleshooter at support.google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/6357590. Three paths:
Google auto-deletes accounts with two years of inactivity.
Microsoft’s current position is short: no legacy contact, no dedicated email address, no phone process.
If you have the credentials, close the account at account.microsoft.com/close-account. It enters a 60-day soft delete then permanently deletes.
If you don’t have credentials, Microsoft will not release data absent a US subpoena or court order served on its registered agent. There is no simpler path. Outlook.com and OneDrive accounts freeze after one year of inactivity and expire after two, so waiting is a viable option if the account has nothing critical.
Xbox digital game licenses cannot be transferred. Cancel Xbox Game Pass by cancelling the payment source. Skype was retired in May 2025; any surviving Skype data lives under the parent Microsoft account and follows the rules above.
Owned by Microsoft but with its own process. No legacy contact.
Memorialize at linkedin.com/help/linkedin/ask/ts-rdmlp. The profile is hidden from search and connection suggestions. Anyone can request.
Close the account uses the same form but is restricted to immediate family or executors. LinkedIn asks for the member’s full name, date of death, profile URL, email on the account, most recent employer, requester’s relationship, and a link to an obituary. Removal completes in about 30 days. LinkedIn will not release messages, connections, or any account data.
Current process, all routed through help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN2021.html:
Current mailing address: Concierge Executive Escalations, Yahoo, 11955 Democracy Drive, Reston, VA 20190-5662.
X does not memorialize. The only outcome is deactivation.
Start at help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/contact-x-about-a-deceased-family-members-account. After the initial request, X emails follow-up instructions asking for the deceased’s username, full name, email on the account, the requester’s government ID, and a death certificate. X will not provide login credentials, direct messages, or archived tweets to family under any circumstances. Deactivation is final.
X also accepts requests from verified family to remove specific images or video that show the moment of a person’s death. This is separate from account deactivation and is handled through the same help page.
Amazon has a dedicated bereavement team. Email bereavement-support-cs@amazon.com with the deceased’s name, the email address on the account, a copy of the death certificate, and proof you are the legal representative (letters testamentary, executor documentation, or a probate court order) plus your photo ID. Amazon typically closes accounts within one to two weeks.
Understand what is lost on closure:
Prime is cancelled with a pro-rata refund available on request. Physical order history is preserved during the closure window in case of returns.
KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) royalties are a separate process. Contact KDP Support with links to the deceased’s books, a death certificate, and executor paperwork. Amazon can either pay outstanding royalties to the estate’s bank account or transfer the books to an heir’s own KDP account. Verify the bank details before you close anything, or accrued royalties can be stranded.
Forty-nine states plus DC have adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA). Under it, a well-drafted will can grant an executor authority over digital assets. Louisiana has not adopted it.
RUFADAA helps but does not override every platform’s terms of service. Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Google (for data), and Dropbox will still demand a court order for content release even when your will names you executor. Budget for it. Yahoo and Google will supply the required language on request, which shortens what your lawyer has to draft.
Set up Apple Legacy Contact, Facebook Legacy Contact, and Google Inactive Account Manager while you’re alive. If you’re an executor and none of that was set up, work through the platforms above one at a time. Bring a death certificate, government ID, and proof of authority to every request. For the accounts that require it, budget for a lawyer to draft a court order.
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