What to Do With a Deceased Person's Social Media Accounts in Ontario

Sorting out a loved one's affairs increasingly means sorting out their online presence too. Deceased social media accounts in Ontario aren't addressed by a single law or a single process — each platform sets its own rules for what happens to an account after the user dies, and those rules can range from generous to frustrating.

This guide explains the general options available — memorializing, closing, or downloading — and how an executor or family member typically goes about it.

Why This Isn't a Legal Process, Mostly

Unlike a bank account or a piece of real property, a social media account isn't usually treated as estate "property" in the traditional sense — most platforms' terms of service govern what happens to it, not Ontario's estate laws. That means the executor's authority to deal with the account often comes down to what each platform will accept as proof of death and of the requester's relationship to the deceased, rather than a court order.

That said, an estate trustee is still the person with legal authority to manage the deceased's affairs generally, and platforms will often look to that role — along with immediate family — when deciding who can act.

The Three Common Options

Most major platforms offer some version of the following choices, though the exact names and steps vary:

Some platforms let a user designate a "legacy contact" or similar role in advance, who is then authorized to manage certain aspects of the account after death without needing to prove anything further at the time. Where that setting exists and was used, it's usually the fastest path.

A General Process for Handling an Account

1. Identify the platform's dedicated process. Most major platforms have a specific reporting form or account-management page for deceased users, separate from ordinary customer support.
2. Gather proof of death. This commonly means a death certificate or funeral home documentation; some platforms accept an obituary link as a starting point.
3. Establish your relationship or authority. Immediate family members are often accepted at this stage; an estate trustee acting more formally may need to show their Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee, depending on what the request involves.
4. Choose memorialize, close, or download based on what the family wants and what the deceased may have expressed a preference for, if known.
5. Follow up in writing and keep records of what was requested and confirmed, particularly if the estate trustee is the one acting, since they may need to account for estate-related decisions later.

Practical Considerations Before You Act

• Check for the deceased's own wishes first. Some people leave instructions — in a will, a letter, or a password manager — about what they want done with specific accounts. Where those exist, they're a reasonable and appropriate guide, even though they aren't always binding on the platform.
• Consider family sensitivities. A memorialized page can be a place for others to grieve, but it can also be painful for some family members to encounter unexpectedly. There's no universally "right" choice here.
• Don't assume you can simply log in. Even if you have the deceased's password, using it to access or post from their account may violate a platform's terms of service, separate from any estate law question. Using the platform's official deceased-user process avoids that issue.
• Business or income-generating accounts are different. If the account was tied to a business, a monetized following, or a source of income, treat it as an estate asset requiring valuation and more careful handling — not simply a personal profile to memorialize or close.

Frequently asked questions