Most families think first about Facebook. In practice the list is much longer, and the accounts that cause the most trouble months later are the ones nobody thought to look for: the email that resets every other password, the cloud storage that holds the photos, the subscriptions that keep charging a card that no longer belongs to anyone.
This is the checklist we use. Work down it once with a pen, tick what applies, and you have the whole job on one page. You do not need to find everything before you start, and you do not need a single password for any of it.
Print it. The same checklist is available as a one page PDF to keep with the death certificate and the other paperwork: download the checklist (PDF).
Before you close anything
- Keep the phone charged and do not wipe it. Even locked, it tells you which apps and accounts the person had, and it receives the security codes other accounts send.
- Keep the mobile number live for a few months. Security codes and password resets arrive by text.
- Close the email account last. Renewal notices and account recovery messages for everything else land there. Our email guide explains why.
- Save what matters first. Photos, messages and documents cannot be recovered once an account is closed. The delete or memorialise guide covers what to preserve.
Social media
- Facebook: memorialise or remove. UK guide. If a request has stalled, what to do next.
- Instagram: memorialise or remove, separately from Facebook even if linked. UK guide.
- Threads: follows the Instagram account.
- X (Twitter): deactivation only, no memorial state. Guide.
- TikTok: memorialise or delete; save the videos first. Guide.
- LinkedIn: memorialise or close. Guide.
- Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit, YouTube channel, dating apps, forums: each has a support route rather than a form. Note them down; they are usually last.
Email and the accounts that unlock everything
- Gmail, Outlook or Hotmail, Yahoo, an ISP address (BT, Sky, Virgin, TalkTalk): close last. Email guide.
- Google Account: one login for Gmail, Photos, Drive, YouTube and the Android phone. UK guide.
- Apple Account (Apple ID): iCloud photos, backups, the iPhone's Activation Lock. Check for a Legacy Contact before doing anything. Guide.
- Microsoft account: Outlook, OneDrive, Xbox, Microsoft 365. Guide.
- Password manager: 1Password, LastPass, Bitwarden, or the browser's saved passwords. If you can reach it, it is the master list.
Messaging
- WhatsApp: no memorial option; export the chats you want to keep before the number is cancelled. Guide.
- Messenger: handled with the Facebook account.
- Signal, Telegram, iMessage: tied to the phone number or the Apple Account.
Money and shopping
- PayPal: the balance is part of the estate. Guide.
- Amazon: Prime, Kindle, Audible, Alexa recordings, gift card balance. Guide.
- eBay, Etsy, Vinted, Depop: check for open sales, unpaid fees and a balance owed to the person.
- Apple and Google app subscriptions: billed through the Apple or Google account, not the app.
- Online banking, savings apps, investment and crypto apps: these go through the bank's or provider's bereavement team, not through this list, but write them down here so nothing is missed.
- Loyalty and points: Nectar, Clubcard, Avios, hotel points. Some can be transferred to the estate; ask.
Subscriptions that keep charging
Twelve months of bank and card statements is the fastest way to find these. Most stop by themselves once the bank knows about the death and the card fails, but some are billed to another family member's card or through PayPal. Our subscriptions guide covers which is which.
- Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, NOW, Apple TV+
- Spotify, Apple Music, Audible, YouTube Premium
- Cloud storage: iCloud+, Google One, Dropbox, OneDrive
- Software and apps: Microsoft 365, antivirus, VPNs, dating apps, fitness and meditation apps
- Home devices: Ring, Nest, Hive, Sky Glass, smart alarm monitoring
- Newspapers, magazines, recipe boxes, delivery passes
Phone, broadband and TV
- Mobile contract: every UK network has a bereavement team that can close the account, waive the remaining term and release the number. Keep the SIM live until the other accounts are done. Our phone contracts guide lists every provider.
- Broadband and landline: the same bereavement route, and the email address that came with it, which some people used for everything.
- TV: Sky, Virgin, BT TV, TV licence. The TV licence can be transferred or refunded.
Devices and the data on them
- Phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, smartwatch, camera memory cards, external drives
- Smart speakers and doorbells that still record
- Games consoles and their accounts: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Steam
Work, public and creative accounts
- LinkedIn, a personal website or domain name, a blog, a YouTube channel, a podcast
- Freelance platforms, a Patreon or Substack, a shop on Etsy or Shopify
- Professional memberships, GitHub, portfolio sites
A domain name is the one people forget. When it expires, the website disappears and the email addresses on it stop working, and someone else can register it.
The order to do it in
Tell the bank. Cancel or transfer anything charging another family member. Deal with PayPal and the mobile contract.
Memorialise or remove the social media profiles, so nobody can log in, impersonate the person or message relatives from the account.
Photos from Apple and Google, chats from WhatsApp, anything on the devices. Take your time here.
Subscriptions, shopping, cloud storage, then the Apple or Google account, then the email.
The two documents you will need again and again
Almost every request on this list asks for the same two things: the death certificate, and something that shows you are entitled to act, such as a birth or marriage certificate that links you to the person, or the grant of probate. Our documents guide explains each one and how to get certified copies. Nobody on this list should ever ask you for a password.
Or let us work through the list for you
Departed Digital closes or memorialises every account on this checklist for the family. You tell us which ones you know about, we find the rest, you send the documents once, and you receive a written record at the end. Packages start from £149.
Rather hand over the list? Start a case and tick the accounts you know about. We will do the rest.