Digital Legacy

Social media accounts often contain years of memories: photos, messages and conversations. Each platform has its own policy for accounts of deceased users.

Facebook and Instagram offer memorialization: the profile stays visible with "Remembering" in front of the name. A loved one needs to submit a request with a death certificate. You can also designate a "legacy contact" in your Facebook settings in advance — that person can then manage the memorialized profile.

On X (formerly Twitter) you can request account deactivation through a form. LinkedIn offers a similar process. TikTok, Snapchat and Pinterest each have their own procedure — usually via a contact form with proof of death.

Tip: log in to your main social media accounts now and check if a legacy or memorialization setting is available. Note which accounts you have in your digital vault overview.

Email is often the key to all your other accounts. With access to someone's email, you can reset passwords for virtually any other account. That's why arranging your email account is perhaps the most important step.

Google offers the Inactive Account Manager: you set up what should happen when your account has been inactive for a certain period (3, 6, 12 or 18 months). You can designate trusted contacts who will then get access to your data, or have your account automatically deleted.

Microsoft/Outlook has a "next of kin" process. Loved ones can request access to the contents of an Outlook account with a death certificate and identification. This process takes several weeks.

Do you have your own domain with email (e.g. through a hosting provider or Google Workspace)? Make sure someone has the login credentials for the hosting account, otherwise the domain will expire and all emails will be lost.

Many people store documents, photos and videos in the cloud: Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive or Dropbox. These files can have both emotional and financial value.

With Google, cloud storage falls under the same Inactive Account Manager as your email. If you set up a contact there, they will also get access to your Google Drive files.

Apple offers the Digital Legacy feature since iOS 15.2. You designate one or more "legacy contacts" through your Apple ID settings. After your death, they can request access to your iCloud data — including photos, notes and files — with an access key and your death certificate.

Dropbox and OneDrive have no automatic legacy process. Loved ones must contact customer service and provide documentation. This can take months. Consider backing up important files locally to an external hard drive that your loved ones can find.

Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Ethereum works fundamentally differently from a bank account. There is no bank that can help your loved ones — access depends entirely on possession of the private key or seed phrase (recovery phrase).

If nobody knows your seed phrase or private key, your crypto is permanently and irreversibly lost. An estimated 20% of all Bitcoin worldwide is inaccessible due to lost keys. Therefore, store your seed phrase in a safe physical location: a safety deposit box, a sealed envelope at the notary, or a steel backup plate that survives fire and water.

Do you use an exchange like Coinbase or Binance? Then it's slightly easier: loved ones can contact the exchange with a death certificate and identification. But the process varies by platform and can take months.

Besides crypto, NFTs, domain names, in-game items and digital licenses also count as digital possessions. Create an overview of everything with financial value and store it together with your passwords.

A password manager is the best way to keep all your accounts organized — both for yourself and for your loved ones. Instead of dozens of individual passwords, your loved one only needs to know one master password.

Bitwarden offers an "Emergency Access" feature: you designate a trusted contact who automatically gets access to your vault after a configurable waiting period (e.g. 7 days) if you don't respond to the notification. This is ideal for end-of-life situations.

1Password uses an Emergency Kit: a PDF with your account details and secret key. Store this printed copy in a safe place that your loved ones know about. Without this kit and the master password, your 1Password vault is inaccessible.

Don't use a password manager? Consider storing an encrypted document or a physical list in a safe deposit box. In any case, make sure at least one trusted person knows how to access your accounts.

Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, an online newspaper, Adobe Creative Cloud, a fitness app — the average person has 5 to 10 ongoing digital subscriptions. After a death, these continue running until someone cancels them or the bank account is blocked.

Create an overview of all your subscriptions. Many subscriptions are on direct debit or credit card. When the payment method stops (for example because the bank account is closed), subscriptions are automatically terminated after a few failed payments. But this can take weeks and in some cases the outstanding amounts end up with a collection agency.

Tip: check your bank statements from the past 12 months. All recurring amounts are likely subscriptions. Note for each subscription: service, amount, payment method and how to cancel.

Some subscriptions like Apple One or Google One are family plans. If the primary account holder dies, all family members also lose their access. Keep this in mind.

Photos and videos are often the most valuable digital possession for loved ones. They're spread across phones, laptops, Google Photos, iCloud, Dropbox and social media. After a death, it's often difficult to gather everything.

The best strategy is a combination: store your most important photos in the cloud (Google Photos or iCloud with the legacy feature set up) and in a physical location (external hard drive or USB stick). That way your loved ones always have a fallback if a cloud account isn't accessible.

Google Photos falls under the Inactive Account Manager. Apple Photos is part of iCloud and therefore accessible via Digital Legacy. Photos on social media (Facebook, Instagram) are available as long as the memorialized profile is active.

Also think about messaging apps: WhatsApp conversations, iMessage, Telegram — these often contain unique photos and memories that don't exist anywhere else. WhatsApp backups are stored on Google Drive (Android) or iCloud (iPhone).

Bank accounts legally fall under the regular estate and are handled through the notary and the bank. But digital access to banking deserves separate attention.

After a death, bank accounts are blocked as soon as the bank registers the death (this usually happens through the municipality). Standing orders and direct debits are stopped. The bank then opens an "estate account" where the balance is transferred to.

Online banking apps and login credentials become unusable after blocking. But your loved ones may need the recent transaction history to trace subscriptions, debts or claims. Therefore, periodically save an overview of your financial situation.

Do you have payment accounts at multiple banks, investment accounts or deposits? Create an overview and store it in the same place as your other digital legacy information.

Arranging your digital legacy doesn't have to happen all at once. Start with the most important steps and update your overview periodically. Below is a summary of the action items from all sections on this page.

1. Install a password manager and set up emergency access (Bitwarden) or store your Emergency Kit (1Password).

2. Activate Google Inactive Account Manager and/or Apple Digital Legacy.

3. Check the memorialization settings of your social media accounts.

4. Create a list of all your online subscriptions and how they can be cancelled.

5. Store your crypto seed phrase/private keys in a safe physical location.

6. Back up your most important photos to an external hard drive.

7. Create an overview of your financial accounts at all banks.

8. Appoint a digital executor and discuss your wishes.

9. Store this overview in a safe place and tell your loved ones where it is.