How to Memorialize a Facebook or Instagram Account

What memorializing an account actually does

When someone dies, their Facebook and Instagram profiles stay online unless someone acts. Memorializing is the middle path between deleting an account and leaving it exactly as it was. A memorialized profile is frozen: no one can log in, the content is preserved, and—on Facebook—the word "Remembering" appears next to the person's name. Existing photos and posts stay visible to whoever could already see them, and friends can still post tributes to the timeline.

Memorializing also stops the painful glitches that hurt grieving families: no more birthday reminders, no "people you may know" suggestions featuring the person, and no risk of the account being hacked and used. Below are the exact, current steps for Facebook and Instagram, followed by how to plan ahead for your own accounts on Facebook, Apple, and Google so your family never has to guess.

One note before you start: platforms update these forms and menu paths periodically, so if a link or setting has moved, search the platform's Help Center for "deceased" or "memorialize" and you'll be routed to the current version. The core requirements—proof of death and, for removals, proof that you're an immediate family member—stay consistent even when the buttons move.

How to memorialize a Facebook account

Anyone can request memorialization—you don't need to have been friends with the person, but you will need proof they've passed.

1. Open the request form. Go to Facebook's Help Center and search "Request to memorialize an account," or navigate to the "Memorialized Accounts" help page and choose the memorialization request.
2. Enter the person's details. Provide their full name and a link to their Facebook profile (open their profile and copy the URL from the address bar).
3. Add the date of passing. Enter the date they died.
4. Attach proof. Upload a link to an obituary or news article. Facebook may request a death certificate for verification.
5. Submit and wait. Facebook reviews the request and emails you the outcome. Once approved, the profile is locked and shows "Remembering."

If you are an immediate family member and would prefer the account removed entirely rather than memorialized, use the "Special Request for a Deceased Person's Account" form instead, which asks for proof of authority and of death.

Set a Facebook Legacy Contact (do this for yourself, in advance)

A Legacy Contact is the person you choose to look after your memorialized profile. Setting one now is the single most useful thing you can do so your own family isn't locked out later.

1. Open Settings. On Facebook, go to Settings & Privacy → Settings.
2. Find Memorialization Settings. Look under your account/personal details for "Memorialization settings."
3. Choose a Legacy Contact. Type a friend or family member's name and select them. You can optionally send them a message letting them know.

Once your account is memorialized, that person can write a pinned post at the top of your profile, respond to new friend requests, and update your profile and cover photo. Importantly, a Legacy Contact cannot log in as you or read your private messages. You can also choose, in the same settings, whether you'd prefer your account be permanently deleted after your death instead.

How to memorialize or report an Instagram account

Instagram (also owned by Meta) has a similar process, though it has no equivalent of a Legacy Contact.

1. Open the memorialization request. In Instagram's Help Center, search "Report a Deceased Person's Account" and choose "Requesting to memorialize this account."
2. Provide the person's details. Enter their username and their full name.
3. Submit proof. Attach proof of death, such as a link to an obituary or a news article.
4. Submit. Once approved, the account is memorialized: it's locked from logins, and it no longer appears in public spaces like the Explore page.

To have an Instagram account removed instead, you must be a verified immediate family member and provide documentation such as the person's birth certificate, death certificate, or proof that you're their lawful representative. Choose the "Request removal" option on the same deceased-person form.

Set up an Apple Legacy Contact

Apple's Digital Legacy program lets someone you trust access your iCloud data—photos, notes, files, and more—after you die, using a special access key plus a death certificate. Set it up on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

1. Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
2. Go to Sign-In & Security (on older iOS, this is under "Password & Security").
3. Tap Legacy Contact, then Add Legacy Contact.
4. Choose a person and confirm. If they're in your Family Sharing group they're added directly; otherwise you can share the access key with them by message.
5. Make sure the access key is saved. Your contact needs both the access key and a copy of your death certificate to request access later at Apple's Digital Legacy site.

Set up Google's Inactive Account Manager

Google lets you decide in advance what happens to Gmail, Google Photos, Drive, and YouTube if your account goes unused for a set period—a smart plan for your digital legacy.

1. Go to your Google Account. Visit myaccount.google.com and open the Data & privacy tab.
2. Find "Make a plan for your digital legacy" and open Inactive Account Manager.
3. Set the waiting period. Choose how long Google should wait after your last activity—from 3 to 18 months—before treating the account as inactive.
4. Add trusted contacts. Choose up to 10 people to notify, and select which data (if any) each can download.
5. Decide the final step. Optionally tell Google to delete the account automatically after the waiting period and notifications are complete.

Google checks in before acting—it will text and email you as the waiting period approaches, so an account you're simply not using won't be handed over by mistake. This makes Inactive Account Manager one of the easiest legacy plans to set up now and forget, knowing your Gmail, Photos, and Drive will reach the right people or be cleanly closed.

Why social accounts aren't a permanent memorial

Memorializing accounts is worth doing, but it has limits. A memorialized profile is frozen—no new albums, no organized story, and it still lives inside a platform that can change its rules, its layout, or its very existence. Photos scattered across Facebook, Instagram, an iCloud library, and a Google account are hard for family to gather, and harder still for the next generation to find.

That's why many families create a free digital memorial as a permanent, platform-independent home for someone's photos, videos, voice recordings, and stories. Unlike a locked social profile, it's built to be added to over years and shared with anyone, and it isn't at the mercy of a social network's next policy change. For a wider look at wills, passwords, and end-of-life planning, our memorial resource hub pulls the practical guides together in one place.

Frequently asked questions