Digital Legacy Planning: What Happens to Your Online Life When You Die?
We spend years building digital lives; storing photographs in the cloud, running businesses through email, managing finances online, documenting memories on social media, and collecting subscriptions, files, passwords, and conversations across dozens of platforms. Yet very few people make a plan for what should happen to those accounts when they die.
For the people left behind, this can create emotional and practical pressures at an already difficult time of grieving. Families may struggle to access treasured photographs, close accounts, retrieve important documents, manage online subscriptions, or locate financial information. In some cases, digital assets such as cryptocurrency, online businesses, or monetised content can become permanently inaccessible.
Digital legacy planning is the process of deciding what should happen to your online accounts, devices, files, and digital assets after your death and making it easier for trusted people to carry out your wishes safely and legally.
Importantly, this is not simply about sharing passwords. In fact, directly sharing passwords can violate the terms of service of many platforms and may create security risks during your lifetime. Increasingly, major technology companies are offering built-in legacy tools that allow you to nominate trusted people to access your accounts after your death in a more secure and structured way.
I’m not going to play it down, the following is a lot of information, but it’s a much needed guide to something that’s still not on most people’s radars. We are living through the first generations in history to leave behind extensive digital lives. In 1999, only around 4% of the world’s population had internet access. Today, less than 30 years later, more than 6 billion people are online. Most people now have an online presence, but very few have made plans for how that digital life should be managed, preserved, or accessed after death.
Why Digital Legacy Planning Matters
Your legacy, in this context, is essentially everything you leave behind…including your lasting impact. I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer my lasting impact not be one of chaos.
A thoughtful digital legacy plan can help:
Preserve important memories, photos, videos and writings
Prevent identity theft or account misuse after death
Help loved ones locate practical information quickly
Avoid ongoing charges from forgotten subscriptions
Protect sensitive or private information
Clarify your wishes around memorialisation, deletion or preservation
Reduce stress for grieving family members and executors
For many people, their digital presence now represents a significant part of their personal, financial, creative, and social life. Yet families are often surprised to discover that even with a death certificate, companies will not simply hand over account access.
What Counts as a Digital Asset?
Your digital legacy may include the following:
Communication & Social Media
Email accounts
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X/Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
Messaging apps like WhatsApp or Signal
Blogs, newsletters, forums like Reddit and Discord servers
Personal Memories
Cloud photo libraries
Videos
Voice notes
Journals, writing, creative hobbies
Family archives
Financial & Administrative Information
Online banking
PayPal or payment platforms
Cryptocurrency wallets
Investment platforms
Subscription services
Utility accounts
Creative & Professional Work
Websites and domains
Online shops
Patreon/Substack accounts and income
Intellectual property
Cloud storage and work documents
Devices & Access Systems
Phones, Tablets, Computers
Password managers
Two-factor authentication apps
Passkeys and biometric access
The Biggest Misunderstanding: “My Family Can Just Log In”
Many people assume their next of kin will automatically be able to access their accounts after death. In reality, most tech companies prohibit account sharing and often will not provide direct login access, even to spouses or children. If your loved ones don’t have direct access to something, they will not be provided passwords to access it in your absence.
Without advance planning, loved ones may face:
Locked devices
Two-factor authentication barriers
Inaccessible cloud storage
Lost photographs and files
Ongoing subscriptions they cannot cancel
Difficulty locating important documents
Identity theft / phishing attacks
This is why proactive planning matters.
Digital Legacy Planning Options
There is no single perfect solution. Most people benefit from combining several approaches. The services and tools referenced throughout this article are included as examples of currently available options rather than formal recommendations or endorsements. Different people will have different priorities around privacy, accessibility, cost, ethics, ease of use and security.
Where possible, I encourage people to research multiple options, consider free and low-cost approaches verses paid services, and choose systems that align with their own values, preferences and circumstances.
1. Built-In Legacy Tools From Major Platforms
Many technology companies now offer official systems for post-death access or memorialisation. Here’s a list of the current, most popular ‘built-in’ tools available.
Apple Legacy Contact
Apple allows users to nominate trusted people as Legacy Contacts. After death, those contacts can request access to certain iCloud data using an access key and death certificate. You must nominate your trusted person(s) via your account.
This may include:
Photos
Notes
Messages stored in iCloud
Files
Contacts
Backups
However, some information remains inaccessible, including saved passwords and payment details.
Google Inactive Account Manager
Google offers one of the most comprehensive digital legacy tools available.
Users can:
Choose trusted contacts
Decide which Google services can be accessed
Set an inactivity period (3–18 months)
Automatically delete accounts if desired
Create automated messages to contacts
This can include Gmail, Google Photos, Drive, YouTube, and more.
Meta (Facebook & Instagram)
Facebook allows users to:
Nominate a Legacy Contact
Memorialise accounts after death
Request account deletion after death
A Legacy Contact can manage certain aspects of a memorialised profile but cannot read private messages or fully log into the account. Instagram currently allows memorialisation or removal requests but offers fewer management options.
2. Password Managers & Emergency Access
Password managers are increasingly becoming one of the most practical digital legacy tools available. Rather than leaving written passwords in a drawer, password managers securely store credentials and can allow trusted emergency access.
Commonly recommended services include:
Bitwarden
1Password
Proton
NordPass
Many offer:
Emergency access requests
Waiting periods before approval
Secure encrypted vaults
Storage for important documents and recovery information
This can be particularly useful for:
Two-factor authentication recovery
Subscription management
Digital business continuity
Shared household accounts
However, this approach requires careful thought. Whoever gains access to a password manager may effectively gain access to a large part of your digital life. Trust and security are essential.
3. Digital Estate & Legacy Planning Services
A growing number of companies now specialise in digital estate organisation and end-of-life planning.
These services vary widely but may offer:
Secure document storage
Account inventories
Legacy instructions
Password vaults
Executor guidance
Funeral and end-of-life planning tools
Examples include:
MyWishes.co.uk - This is a free to use, ‘Tech for Good’ platform that allows you to have all your advance planning recorded in one place. It allows you to print each section of your planning as well, so you can share it with your solicitor or keep as a hard copy for loved ones to easily access. Whilst I am not endorsing any of the services provided in this article, I am interested in highlighting that a free service is not necessarily a lesser option than paid services. From looking at these examples, My Wishes is a useful service for those looking for an easy-to-use, straightforward and free to use service.
In reviewing these examples, you will see that they each provide different approaches to digital legacy planning and beyond. When evaluating these services, consider:
Security and encryption standards
Where data is stored
Whether information is cloud-based
Long-term sustainability of the company
Subscription costs
Export and backup options
Who can access information and when
4. Creating Your Own Digital Legacy Plan
You do not necessarily need a specialist service. And you certainly do not need a paid service to get your affairs in order.
A simple but effective plan might include:
A Secure Record Of:
Important accounts
Email addresses linked to accounts
Subscription services
Domain names and hosting providers
Cryptocurrency wallets
Device PIN locations
Password manager details
Wishes around social media memorialisation or deletion
Plus Clear Instructions About:
What should be preserved
What should be deleted
Who should have access
Who should manage your digital affairs
Many experts recommend keeping this information:
In a password manager
In encrypted storage
Or physically stored in a “death box” alongside your will or advance care documents (without listing active passwords in plain sight). This is a physical box, labelled and hidden in a location that your nominated loved ones know where to find it when the time comes they will need to access it.
Ethical & Emotional Considerations
Digital legacy planning is not only technical, it is deeply personal. Some people want their online presence preserved. Others prefer accounts to disappear completely. Some wish for certain photographs, messages, or creative work to be shared, while other materials remain private.
Questions worth considering include:
Should social media accounts remain online?
Are there private conversations you would not want accessed?
What happens to dating profiles?
Should creative work be archived?
How will online communities be notified?
Who do you trust to manage this responsibly?
These conversations can feel uncomfortable for some, but they are increasingly becoming a normal part of modern end-of-life planning as we recognise the growing impact our digital life can have on those we leave behind.
Important Limitations & Risks
No system is perfect. Even with planning:
Platforms can change policies
Companies can shut down
Access requests may still require documentation
Legacy contacts do not always provide full account access
Two-factor authentication can complicate recovery
Password sharing may breach terms of service
Digital legacy planning should therefore be reviewed regularly, especially after:
Relationship changes
Major purchases
New devices
New online businesses
Changes in executors or trusted contacts
A Practical Starting Point
If you are unsure where to begin, these are some of the most useful first steps:
Set up Apple Legacy Contact or Google Inactive Account Manager
Start using a secure password manager
Create a list of important accounts and digital assets
Decide what you want preserved, deleted, or shared
Tell at least one trusted person where your instructions are stored
Review your plan annually
Even a small amount of preparation can make an enormous difference for the people left to manage your affairs.
Further Support
Advance Care Planning Day is on 1st July, which is a national day of education and awareness aiming to support more people to engage with planning ahead. In support of this, I am running a series of events called Dead Curious: The Community Conversations Cafe where we’ll be diving into some interesting conversations and attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn about what to consider when starting this process.
Sometimes, it’s easier to get things done when we do it with others. In the future I will also be holding workshops to help get people started with the process of creating a ‘death box’ to house your plans. If this is something you’d be interested in attending, please let me know by sending me a message here. If I get enough interest, I’ll reach out and arrange a workshop according to your availability.
