To help and support you in difficult and emotional times, we give you all the information needed about what will happen to your Facebook account if you pass away.
Memorialized account or deleting your account
You can tell Facebook in advance whether you’d like to have your account memorialized or permanently deleted from Facebook.
Memorialized accounts
Memorialized accounts are a place for friends and family to gather and share memories after a person has passed away. Memorialized accounts have the following key features:
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The word Remembering will be shown next to the person’s name on their profile
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Depending on the privacy settings of the account, friends can share memories on the memorialized Timeline
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Content the person shared (ex: photos, posts) stays on Facebook and is visible to the audience it was shared with
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Memorialized profiles don’t appear in public spaces such as in suggestions for People You May Know, ads or birthday reminders
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No one can log into a memorialized account
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Memorialized accounts that don’t have a legacy contact can’t be changed
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Pages with a sole admin whose account was memorialized will be removed from Facebook if we receive a valid request
Deleting your account
You can choose to have your account permanently deleted should you pass away. To do this:
- From the top right of Facebook, click
and select Settings - From the left menu, click Security
- Click Legacy Contact
- Click have your account permanently deleted and follow the on-screen instructions
and select SettingsHow do you report a deceased person or an account that needs to be memorialized?
Memorializing an account also helps keep it secure by preventing anyone from logging into it.
If Facebook is made aware that a person has passed away, it’s their policy to memorialize the account. Learn more about what happens to a memorialized account.
Please keep in mind that Facebook can’t provide login information for someone else’s account even under these circumstances. It’s always against Facebook’s policies to log into another person’s account.
To report a profile to be memorialized, please contact Facebook.
For friends and family
Verified immediate family members may request the removal of a loved one’s account from Facebook.
What is a legacy contact?
A legacy contact is someone you choose to look after your account if it’s memorialized. Once your account is memorialized, your legacy contact will have the option to do things like:
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Write a pinned post for your profile (ex: to share a final message on your behalf or provide information about a memorial service)
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Respond to new friend requests (ex: old friends or family members who weren’t yet on Facebook)
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Update your profile picture and cover photo
You also have the option to allow your legacy contact to download a copy of what you’ve shared on Facebook, and Facebook may add additional capabilities for legacy contacts in the future.
Your legacy contact can’t:
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Log into your account
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Remove or change past posts, photos and other things shared on your Timeline
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Read messages you’ve sent to other friends
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Remove any of your friends
How to manage a memorialized profile as a legacy contact:
To manage a memorialized account (ex: add new friends, change the profile picture):
- Go to the memorialized profile
- In the bottom right of the cover photo, click Manage
- Use the menu on the left to do things like:
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Add a pinned post
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Respond to new friend requests
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Change the profile picture and cover photo
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Note: You must be 18 or older to select a legacy contact.
Do you have any experiences you would like to share with us, please let us know. For questions, remarks, experiences and notes feel free to contact us using info@respectance.com or social media.
The Respectance team