Death of a loved one: How to delete their social media accounts?

Although they have access to a certain amount of personal information, social networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram cannot know when one of their users has died. That’s why accounts continue to exist on these platforms. Learn how to remove these profiles.

What happens to the profile of a deceased person on social media?

When a person dies, by definition they no longer have any activity on their account. But platforms cannot know whether it is an account that becomes inactive by choice, or whether the person who animated it until then is no longer capable of doing so. So social networks don’t suspend it as long as no such request is made to them by the family of the person concerned.

What is the procedure to have these accounts deleted?

To close the accounts, it will be necessary to make the request to each platform.

For Facebook, go to the Help pages. You will need to fill out a form and provide a death certificate, along with proof that you are a member of the family of the person concerned. Facebook offers to update the user’s data to transform his page into a memorial. But in any case, you will not be able to consult, modify or transfer your loved one’s data. By following the procedure, you can simply delete his profile, which will no longer appear on the Internet.

On Instagram, you can also choose to delete an account or turn it into a memorial. The proof to be provided is identical to that of Facebook, and you will attach a completed form. There is no dedicated page on Instagram for these steps, but you can directly address the platform by indicating your request.

For YouTube (and all Google services), it is also necessary to respond to a form by providing the death certificate. However, if the deceased had chosen more than one administrator on his or her behalf, then-designated relatives will be able to delete the account directly.

Finally, LinkedIn and Twitter follow much the same process. You will have to contact the service of the platform concerned and provide here again several information: the death certificate, the full name of the person, his last company (for LinkedIn), the link that united you…