Instagram's forms for a death are shorter than Facebook's, and they fail in their own particular ways. The form says the username is invalid. The request goes quiet. Removal is refused because the proof was not what Instagram wanted. Or the account has been suspended, or a stranger is running it, and the memorialisation request cannot catch up.
This page picks up where the how-to leaves off. If you have not sent anything yet, start with our Instagram guide, which explains memorialisation, removal and why saving the photos comes first. If you have, find your situation below.
The short version. Instagram memorialises a profile on proof of death alone, but only removes it for a verified immediate family member or legal representative. Most stuck requests are either a username typed in the wrong format, a request that needs resubmitting at two weeks, or a removal request sent with memorialisation-level proof. The rest are accounts that have been suspended or taken over, which need a different form entirely.
Which of these is happening?
- The form says the username is invalid, or cannot find the profile
- You sent it and nothing has happened
- Removal was refused, or Instagram asked for more proof
- The account was suspended or disabled after the death
- Someone else is running the account, or a copy has appeared
- It says "Remembering" but something still needs changing
- You did Facebook and assumed Instagram was covered
The form says the username is invalid, or cannot find the profile
Instagram identifies people by username, the name after the @ sign, and its forms are strict about the format. Families on Reddit describe the "invalid username" message appearing over and over for a profile they can see perfectly well in the app.
Not the display name, not the web address, and not the @ sign. If the profile is instagram.com/their.name, the username is their.name. Copy it from the profile page rather than typing it, because a full stop and an underscore look alike on a phone.
Open instagram.com/the-username in a web browser while logged out. If it shows "Sorry, this page isn't available", the account has already been removed, suspended, or renamed. A suspended account cannot be memorialised until it is restored, which is covered below.
Search the Instagram Help Centre for "Report a deceased person's profile" and use the form linked from that page. The report option inside the app is for content that breaks the rules and does not reach the right team.
You sent it and nothing has happened
Instagram gives no timescale, and it processes deaths separately from Facebook even when the two accounts are linked in Meta's Accounts Centre. A request that has gone quiet is not a request that has been refused. It is usually one that has not been looked at.
Check the email address you gave the form, including the junk folder, because Meta's replies often land there. Then, at two weeks, send the same request again with the same proof. Instagram does not mind duplicates and a fresh submission gets fresh attention. A second person can submit at the same time. If a second fortnight passes in silence, send it a third time and add a line saying it is the third request.
This is the point where most families hand it over. A month of silence is where people give up, and the profile stays open. If you would rather not keep resubmitting, we will take the request over: the right form, the username in the format Instagram wants, the proof it accepts, resubmission on schedule, and a written record when it is done. Start a case from £149 →
Not ready for that? Email us what Instagram sent you, or tell us what you sent and when, and we will tell you what it means and what to do next. No charge, and no obligation.
Removal was refused, or Instagram asked for more proof
This is the most common reason a request fails outright, and it comes from the gap between the two routes.
Memorialisation needs proof of death only. Instagram's own words are "a link to an obituary or news article". Anyone can ask.
Removal is only for verified immediate family, and Instagram lists what it wants: the person's birth certificate, the person's death certificate, or proof of authority under local law that you are the lawful representative of the person or their estate. In the UK that last one means the grant of probate or letters of administration.
If you asked for removal with an obituary link, Instagram cannot grant it, and it will not always tell you why. Resubmit with the death certificate and, if your surname differs from theirs, a document that connects you, such as a birth certificate or marriage certificate. If you are the executor rather than family, send the grant. Our guide to the documents you need explains each one.
If you cannot get the removal proof together, ask for memorialisation instead. A memorialised profile cannot be logged in to, stops appearing in Explore, and can be removed later when the paperwork arrives.
The account was suspended or disabled after the death
Meta's automated systems sometimes suspend a profile after a death, often when someone tries to log in from a new device, or when a scammer has been using it. The profile vanishes, the memorialisation form cannot find it, and the family assumes Instagram has acted on their request. It has not.
Instagram says a disabled account may be reviewed by logging in and following the on-screen instructions. Meta's parallel page for Facebook says a suspension can be appealed within 180 days, after which the account is permanently disabled with no further review. Treat 180 days from the suspension as the deadline.
If you have the person's login details, or a phone or laptop where they stayed signed in, go to instagram.com, sign in, and use the appeal option on the "your account has been disabled" screen. Say plainly that the account holder has died and that the family is asking for the account to be restored so it can be memorialised. Use the phone they used if you have it.
Use the deceased person's profile form with the death certificate and a line explaining that the account is currently suspended. If the appeal succeeds, the request is already in the queue and the account gets locked before anyone can misuse it.
If the family wanted the account gone, a suspension that runs its course achieves that, though the photos go with it. If the family wanted a memorial, or the photos, the appeal matters and the clock is real. Save anything you can reach elsewhere first.
Meta's Oversight Board only takes cases that come with a reference number and an account someone can log in to, so it is rarely open to a bereaved family. If you cannot log in, the memorialisation request and patience are the tools you have.
Someone else is running the account, or a copy has appeared
Two different problems look similar. The person's own account is posting, following people or sending messages, which means it has been taken over. Or a new account has appeared using their name and photos, which is impersonation. Both are common after a death, and both are upsetting, because relatives receive messages that appear to come from the person.
For a taken-over account, report it as hacked through instagram.com/hacked as well as sending the memorialisation request. The hacked route reaches a different team and moves faster than the bereavement queue. Warn close family not to send money or click links.
For a copycat account, use Instagram's impersonation report, which is reached from the three dots on the fake profile. It needs no estate documents and is usually acted on within days. The stories page describes a family who found a stranger posting from a sister's profile and how the memorialisation finally ended it.
It says "Remembering" but something still needs changing
Once "Remembering" appears next to the name, the request has worked and nobody can log in again. What surprises families is how fixed a memorialised profile is. Instagram says a memorialised profile without a legacy contact cannot be changed: not the photos, not the comments, not the privacy settings, not the profile photo, not the followers.
If a comment or post on the memorial breaks Instagram's rules, report it using the report option next to that post or comment, which works on memorialised profiles. If the family would now rather the profile was removed, send the removal request with the immediate family proof; memorialisation does not prevent a later removal. If the person chose "Delete after death" in their own settings, Instagram deletes the profile when it receives a valid request, whatever the family would prefer.
You did Facebook and assumed Instagram was covered
It is not. Instagram and Facebook stay separate accounts even when they are linked, and a memorialised Facebook profile does nothing to the Instagram one. Send both requests, with the same documents. If the Facebook side is the one that is stuck, our Facebook page covers it.
Or let us take it over
Departed Digital closes or memorialises online accounts for families. For a stuck Instagram request that means the username in the format the form wants, the proof that matches the route, resubmission on schedule, the hacked or impersonation route if someone else is using the account, and a written record of the outcome. We never ask for passwords and we never log in to anyone's account. We cannot make Meta move faster than it moves. What we can do is make sure nothing is missed and that you do not have to keep checking.
One case covers Instagram and every other account you need dealt with. Packages start from £149.
Stuck with Instagram? Hand the request over and we will see it through. Start a case → Or email us what Instagram sent you and we will tell you what it means, free.