after loss

How to Memorialize or Delete a Facebook Account

By Jason Su · Updated September 18, 2026

Facebook gives you two choices, and you can only pick one. Memorializing keeps the account visible in a changed form so friends can still see it. Deleting removes it. Neither option gives you access to the account or to private messages, and both require proof of the death. The most important thing to understand is that a legacy contact can only be chosen by the account holder in advance — nobody can be appointed to that role afterwards.

The two options

	Memorialize	Delete
The account	Stays visible, marked as remembering the person	Removed permanently
Friends can	Still see what was shared with them, and post on the timeline	Not see it at all
Login	Disabled — nobody can log in	Not applicable
Managed by	Only the legacy contact the person named	Nobody
Reversible	Practically, no	No

There is also a third path that is set up in advance rather than requested: the account holder can choose, in their own settings, that their account be deleted automatically when Facebook learns of their death. If that was set, the account will go on its own and there is nothing for the family to request.

What neither option does

This is where expectations most often run into trouble:

• You do not get access to the account. Memorializing does not hand over a login. Nobody can sign in and read messages.
• You do not get private messages. Direct messages are not turned over to family under either option.
• You cannot read the account’s email address or password from Facebook. If you need the email account itself, that is a separate problem — see what happens to online accounts.
• Memorializing does not stop everything. Anything financially attached to the account, such as ads or a linked payment method, is a separate matter.

The legacy contact, and why timing matters

A legacy contact is a person the account holder chooses in their own settings. If they chose one, that person can manage the memorialized account in limited ways — typically adding a pinned post, responding to new friend requests, and updating the profile picture.

Two things follow from that, and they are the reason this page leads with it:

• You cannot become a legacy contact after the fact. If nobody was named, no family member can step into that role. The memorialized account simply has no manager.
• Choosing one takes about two minutes, and almost nobody does it.

So the useful action here is usually for the living: open your own Facebook settings and choose a legacy contact, or choose deletion. Whichever you prefer, deciding now is what makes it easy later.

What you need to submit a request

Facebook handles both memorialization and deletion through its own request forms. The menu paths move, so use Facebook’s own help pages rather than a screenshot or a blog post written last year — including this one.

Expect to need:

• A link to the profile you are asking about
• Proof of the death — an obituary link or a copy of the death certificate are the usual options
• Your relationship to the person
• Your own contact details, in case they need to verify anything

Requests are handled by a dedicated team, usually by email, and they take time. Remember that the person handling the account’s email is the one who will receive the replies — so do not cancel that email account early. See how to cancel subscriptions for why the email address should be the last thing you close.

If you do not know the password

You do not need it. Both requests are made through the form, not by logging in.

What you do need is the profile link. If you cannot find it, search for the person’s name and check whether relatives have shared a link, which is common in an online memorial.

Other platforms are not the same

Every platform has its own rules, and the differences are not small:

• Some automatically memorialize an account once they learn of a death, without a request.
• Some allow a family member to request that content be downloaded, and some do not.
• Some only allow the account to be closed, never managed.
• Some have no process at all, and no reply to email.

So do not assume that what works for Facebook works elsewhere. Check each platform’s own help pages, and expect the answer to vary.

What not to do

• Do not expect to get the account or its messages. Plan your decisions on the assumption that content will not be handed over, because in most cases it is not.
• Do not cancel the email account first. Every platform’s correspondence goes there, and losing it mid-process means losing the thread.
• Do not memorialize in a hurry because somebody is asking. It is effectively permanent, and a decision made in the first week is often regretted. If you are unsure, wait. There is no deadline.
• Do not assume a family member who has the password should log in. It may breach the platform’s terms, and it may look like account compromise — which can get the account locked rather than preserved.
• Do not photograph the screen and send it to relatives as though they now have access. What was shared publicly stays visible; what was not, does not.

Frequently asked

Can I memorialize an account if I am not the legacy contact?

Anyone can submit a memorialization request with proof of the death. What only a legacy contact can do is manage the account afterwards.

What does a memorialized account look like?

It stays visible with an indication that it is remembering the person, and login is disabled. Friends can generally still see what was originally shared with them and post on the timeline.

Can I delete a memorialized account later?

Generally yes, by requesting deletion. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone, so think it through rather than acting in the first week.

Who can request deletion?

Rules vary and Facebook verifies each request. Immediate family and the person handling the estate are the usual cases. Provide the documentation the form asks for and expect verification to take time.

What if the person chose to have their account deleted automatically?

Then nothing needs to be requested, but Facebook has to learn of the death before it acts. Submitting the memorialization request form is usually still the way to notify them.

Next step

If you are making a request, gather the profile link, the obituary, and your details before you start — the form is short and the delay comes from missing documents.

And do the thing that actually changes the outcome: open your own Facebook settings and set this up for yourself. Choose a legacy contact or choose deletion, then tell the person you named. It takes two minutes and spares someone else this decision entirely. Record it using the free Checklist Builder alongside your other digital accounts.

This is general information, not legal advice. Platform policies, forms, and available options change frequently — please confirm details on Facebook’s own help pages, and talk with a licensed professional about your situation.