Free checklist
Set a known legacy contact — before you need one
Most major platforms already offer some version of this. Almost nobody turns it on. This takes about fifteen minutes and costs nothing. Answered in more detail in our FAQ.
Platforms change these menus often, and not every option is available in every country. Treat the steps below as a reliable starting point, and confirm the current path on each platform before you rely on it.
Social & messaging
- Facebook — set a Legacy Contact In Settings, appoint someone to manage your profile if it's memorialized — they can pin a tribute post and update your photo, but can't log in as you. You can also choose full deletion instead of memorialization.
- Instagram — decide what you want, and tell someone Instagram doesn't offer a legacy contact. A family member can later request memorialization or removal with proof of death, so make sure someone knows which you'd prefer.
- Any other communities that matter Forums, Discord servers, niche platforms — anywhere you'd want someone to post a note or preserve your contributions. These almost never have a formal process, so write your wishes down.
Apple & Google accounts
- Apple ID — add a Legacy Contact Under Sign-In & Security, add one or more Legacy Contacts. Apple gives them an access key they'll need, alongside a death certificate, to reach your iCloud data — photos, notes, files, and more.
- Google — configure Inactive Account Manager Set how long Google should wait before treating your account as inactive, who gets notified, and whether they can download specific data (Gmail, Drive, Photos) or the account should be deleted automatically.
Professional
- LinkedIn — no legacy contact exists, so note your wishes elsewhere LinkedIn has no way to designate a contact in advance. After a death, someone can report the member as deceased (leading to a memorialized, locked profile) or an authorized representative can request full closure. Tell your executor which you'd prefer.
Financial & subscriptions
- Write down what exists — not the passwords, just the list Banks, brokerages, hosting, utilities, mobile plans, streaming and app subscriptions. A simple list of institutions and account nicknames is enough; store it somewhere secure, separate from the passwords themselves.
- Confirm who has legal authority to act A list is only useful to someone who's actually allowed to act on it. This is where power of attorney, executorship, and joint ownership come in — worth a conversation with an estate attorney if you haven't had one.
Devices, passwords & home systems
- Turn on your password manager's emergency access, if it has one Many major password managers let you name a trusted contact who can request access after a waiting period. If yours offers this, it's usually the single highest-leverage thing on this list.
- Store device passcodes somewhere separate from the devices A phone or laptop passcode, written down and sealed somewhere secure, is often the difference between an executor finishing this checklist in a day or in months.
- Document anything self-hosted Home servers, a NAS, a self-hosted site, a personal project running on a rented box somewhere — domain registrar, DNS provider, hosting account, and renewal dates. None of this has a next-of-kin process built in.
Done with the list, or found more than you expected? That's normal — and a reasonable moment to read the FAQ or get in touch.