How do I close or memorialize Facebook and Google accounts?

How does a family close or memorialize an online account?

Each company has its own page for the account of a person who has died, and the page says what it asks for. The steps below get a family to those pages in a good order, on a phone or a computer.

The June's Help online account checklist

1. Make a list of the accounts the person used. Look at the apps on the phone, the senders in the email inbox and the names on card statements.
2. Start from the company's own help page, not from a password. Each page says what it asks for.
3. Ask relatives which photos, messages and contacts they want, and save copies from what the family can already open, never by signing in with the person's password.
4. Open Facebook's two pages: one on memorializing an account, and one for a removal request. Read what each asks for.
5. Decide with the family whether Facebook should memorialize the account or remove it. Facebook's page explains each choice.
6. Open Google's page for a request about a deceased user's account, and read what it asks for.
7. If the person had set up Inactive Account Manager, read Google's page about it to see what it is.
8. Write down the date, the page used and any reference number the company gives.
9. Keep each confirmation email, and photograph a confirmation that comes as a letter.
10. Add the next account to the list, and use the guide on which accounts to cancel for the rest.

See also: How to tell banks, utilities and companies about a death, Which accounts do I cancel after a death?, How do I announce a death? Templates to copy

What are the choices for the Facebook account of a deceased person?

The Facebook account of a deceased person can be memorialized or removed, and Facebook also offers a legacy contact, a person named in advance. Facebook's pages say what each choice does, who can ask and what it needs. This page does not.

Two Facebook pages cover it: one for reporting that a person has died so the account can be memorialized, and a special request form for removing the account. A third explains legacy contacts.

• Facebook Help Center Reporting a deceased person or a Facebook account that needs to be memorialized. Facebook's page for asking that an account be memorialized., official page, opens in a new tab
• Facebook Help Center Special Request for Medically Incapacitated or Deceased Person's Account Facebook's form for a special request about the account of a person who has died., official page, opens in a new tab
• Facebook Help Center Legacy contacts Facebook's page about naming a legacy contact for an account., official page, opens in a new tab

See also: How do I announce a death? Templates to copy

What are the choices for a Google account?

Google has two pages: one on Inactive Account Manager, and one for a request about a deceased user's account. Inactive Account Manager is a setting that a person may have chosen while using the account, so the page is worth reading to see what it is. Google's pages say who can ask and what they need.

A Google account often holds the email address that other companies send their messages to, so the family may want to read the senders in the inbox before anything is changed. The senders show which bills, subscriptions and banks are in play.

• Google Account Help About Inactive Account Manager Google's page on Inactive Account Manager., official page, opens in a new tab
• Google Account Help Submit a request regarding a deceased user's account Google's page for a request about the account of a person who has died., official page, opens in a new tab

See also: Which accounts do I cancel after a death?

What should be saved before an account is closed?

Photos, contacts and messages that relatives want should be saved before an account is closed, because a closed account may not be recoverable. Save them from what the family can already open, never by signing in with the person's password. Copy these lines into a note and fill in the brackets, one account at a time:

• Account: [Facebook, Google, email, phone cloud]
• Photos and videos wanted by: [name]
• Contacts or addresses to save: [where the list was copied]
• Messages or documents to keep: [which ones, saved where]
• Subscriptions or purchases tied to it: [streaming, storage, apps]
• Page used and date: [the help page, the date it was used]
• Reference or confirmation: [number or email]

What does June's Help do with online accounts?

June's Help does not log in to an account or close one. The family does that on the company's own page. What June's Help offers is a place to add a letter from a company as a photo.

If a streaming service or a storage plan still charges the family, the charge can go on the bills and spending list: add it, say who paid, mark it paid and see the totals. The CSV export opens in a spreadsheet.

See also: Which accounts do I cancel after a death?, How do I protect a loved one's identity after death?