When a loved one passes, on top of grief the family immediately faces a question no one wants to deal with: what to do with their phone, accounts, photos in the cloud. Most people lose 60–80% of their digital legacy in the first year, because nobody knows the passwords and the services lock the accounts.
This piece is a direct plan, what to do in the first month and what to prepare in advance.
If the loved one is still here, do this now
The best way not to lose the digital legacy is to prepare in advance. This is not «inviting bad luck», this is responsible adult behaviour.
1. The accounts list
Ask the loved one to write down (or do it together) a list of the main accounts:
- Email (Google, Apple, Yandex, Mail.ru)
- Photo cloud (iCloud, Google Photos, Yandex.Disk)
- Social media (Facebook, Instagram, VKontakte, Telegram)
- Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber)
- Banking apps and subscriptions
2. A password manager
1Password, Bitwarden, KeePass. All passwords in one place. One master password, known to a trusted family member.
Alternative, a sheet of paper in a safe deposit box or a home safe, refreshed once a year. Less convenient, but for older relatives this is often the only realistic option.
3. A digital executor
In Apple this is the «Legacy Contact» in Apple ID settings. In Google, «Inactive Account Manager». These functions automatically pass account access on if the service detects the owner has been inactive for too long.
Five minutes to set up, runs on its own, no need for awkward conversations on the topic.
If the loved one has already passed
Move in this order:
Week one, secure what is physically with you
- The phone. Do not turn it off, do not factory-reset. Plug it in to charge, leave it on a known Wi-Fi.
- If you know the passcode, immediately download a copy via
Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Download a copy(iOS) or Google Takeout (Android). This saves the photos and chats. - If you don't know the passcode, do not guess. Multiple wrong attempts lock the account permanently.
- Paper documents at home: a notebook of passwords, sticky notes by the computer, notes in Evernote and similar tools. Passwords are often kept on physical sheets.
Month one, the main services
- iCloud: if you have the Apple ID, download an archive at
appleid.apple.com → Manage Data. Apple has a Digital Legacy flow for relatives with a death certificate. - Google: a procedure to request the data of a deceased owner, with a death certificate and proof of relationship. Takes 1–2 months.
- Photo clouds: pay a subscription a year ahead if you can. That gives you time to handle things without losing data.
- Social media: VKontakte allows «memorialization». Facebook/Instagram support memorialization too. Telegram self-deletes after 6 months of inactivity (extendable up to 12).
Year one, a digital farewell
- Export the important messenger threads (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.) before they are wiped.
- Save the last voice messages as a separate archive.
- If the loved one had a website, blog, or YouTube channel, download the content or extend the hosting.
- Set up a family archive on one of the clouds and invite the other relatives.
What NOT to do
- Do not factory-reset the phone. It permanently wipes photos and chats.
- Do not guess the password many times. The account locks, and recovery via support takes months.
- Do not post photos of the deceased everywhere immediately. Let the family decide what to publish and where. This is about boundaries, not speed.
- Do not cancel subscriptions in the first weeks. Better overpay for a year than lose the archive.
The point
Digital legacy is the only part of the inheritance that depends entirely on advance preparation. The house and the bank account pass by law. A voice message recorded six months ago does not.
The best time to make the list and the password manager is right now, with the whole family, in one evening. One hour, and grandchildren will thank you in 30 years.