How to Close or Memorialise a Late Relative's Accounts

Someone in your family has passed away, and their accounts are still online. Their Instagram still appears in suggestions and their Gmail keeps receiving mail. Many Malaysian families search for this as "padam akaun media sosial arwah", often weeks later, when there is finally a moment to deal with it.

The short answer: every platform has its own request, and none of them will give you the password. You can usually ask for the account to be memorialised, which keeps it as a place of remembrance that nobody can log in to, or ask for it to be removed if you are close family or the legal representative. A death certificate makes most requests simpler.

This guide goes platform by platform, lists the documents to gather once, and explains the few decisions worth making before you send anything. Take it one account at a time.

Last checked: 5 October 2026.

#How Do You Close a Deceased Relative's Social Media Accounts?

Make a short list of the accounts you know about, then send each platform its own request with proof of death and proof of your relationship. Instagram's page on reporting a deceased person's profile offers memorialisation to anyone with proof of death and removal to verified immediate family. Google's deceased user request page lets immediate family or a representative ask for closure, data or funds. TikTok's page on managing accounts after death covers memorialisation and deletion. Save anything you want to keep first, because removal is final. Nobody outside the platform, including AwareXone, can open or close the account for you.

#Memorialise, Remove or Leave It: Choosing for Each Account

There is no wrong choice here, and the family can decide differently for each account. A memorialised profile stays visible as a place to remember. A removed profile disappears completely.

Facebook has its own forms and a legacy contact system, so we cover it separately in our guide to memorialising or removing a Facebook account after a death.

#Documents to Gather Once, Before Any Request

Most of the work is collecting the same few things. Gather them once, keep them in one folder, and every request becomes quicker.

• The sijil kematian (death certificate) from JPN, scanned or photographed clearly. JPN's death services page explains registration and how relatives obtain copies.
• Proof of your relationship: your own MyKad, plus a birth certificate or marriage certificate that links you to the person, if the platform asks for it.
• Proof of authority if you are the executor or administrator: the will, grant of probate or letters of administration from the family's lawyer.
• The profile link for each account, copied from the app's share option or the browser, plus the username exactly as shown.
• The email address of their Google account, and any email or phone number you believe they used to sign up elsewhere.
• Something that ties the profile to the person if the name differs, such as a screenshot of the profile showing their photo, and a note explaining a nickname.
• An obituary, funeral notice or online memorial post, as a link or a screenshot with the date and web address visible.
• A short list of every request you send: the platform, the date, and any reference number in the confirmation email.

#Instagram: Memorialise or Request Removal

Instagram offers both choices. Its deceased person page says it memorialises a profile when it receives a valid request with proof of death, such as a link to an obituary or news article.

Removal is narrower. Instagram says only verified immediate family can ask for it, and it asks for proof such as the person's birth certificate, their death certificate, or proof of authority under local law that you represent them or their estate.

Instagram's page about memorialised profiles describes what a memorialised profile looks like:

• Nobody can log in to it.
• The word "Remembering" appears next to the person's name.
• Their posts stay visible to the audience they were shared with.
• The profile stops appearing in places such as Explore.
• Without a legacy contact, nothing on it can be changed: not the posts, the comments, the privacy settings or the profile photo.

If your loved one chose "Delete After Death" in their settings, Instagram says it deletes the profile once it receives a valid memorialisation request, and that deletion cannot be undone. Both request routes start from Instagram's deceased account reports page.

#Google: Closing the Account and Asking for Data

A Google account often matters most, because Gmail, Google Photos and Drive may hold years of family photos and documents. Google's request page for a deceased user's account offers three options: close the account, request funds from it, or obtain data from it. Google says it works with immediate family members and representatives, may provide content in certain circumstances, cannot provide passwords, and decides each request only after careful review.

Order matters here. Google says that once you choose to close the account, it cannot process a later request for the contents. If any relative may want the photos or emails, ask for the data first and wait for that request to finish.

Google's closure form asks for:

1. The full name and email address of the person who passed away.
2. Your own full name, email address and relationship: immediate family (spouse, sibling, child or parent), or legal representative or executor.
3. Your country and the date of death.
4. A scan of your government-issued ID, such as your MyKad.
5. A scan of the death certificate, plus any extra documents that explain the case.

Your loved one may already have decided. Google's page on Inactive Account Manager explains that a user can choose up to 10 people to be notified or to receive chosen data after a set period of inactivity, and can ask for the account to be deleted. If Google emails you saying the person instructed it to contact you, the download link in that email is the official route to what they shared.

If nobody asks for anything, Google's inactive account policy says it may delete a personal account that has not been used across Google for at least two years. There are exceptions, for example an account with an ongoing subscription or a gift card balance, so do not rely on inactivity if the family wants the data.

#TikTok: Memorialisation, Deletion and Legacy Contacts

TikTok now offers memorialisation as well as deletion. Its page on managing TikTok accounts after death says the process usually starts with a request from a family member or legal guardian, that it may memorialise an account on its own when the death is confirmed through credible sources, and that it honours a legacy contact if the owner chose one. Older guides that say TikTok has no memorial option are out of date.

For either request, TikTok asks for three things: your relationship to the person, proof of death, and proof that the account belonged to them. The last one is where the profile screenshots and username in your folder help. TikTok's page links an online form for deletion and memorialisation requests and a separate form for data requests.

If your loved one named a TikTok legacy contact, TikTok says that person may, depending on the permissions they were given, update the bio, accept friend requests, manage comments, request deletion or download posts. They cannot log in, edit posts or read messages. Your loved one may instead have chosen "Delete after death" in their account legacy settings, so their wish may already be recorded with TikTok. Separately, TikTok's inactive account policy says an account unused for 180 days may have its username reset to a random number, which is not the same as deletion.

#Why You Should Not Log In With Their Password

Some families know the password, or the phone that receives the login codes is still in a drawer. It is tempting to sign in and delete the account yourself. Please do not. Instagram says it is always against its policies for someone to log in to another person's profile, and none of the platforms here will provide login details for a deceased person's account.

A login from a different phone or place can also set off the platform's security checks. The official request leaves a clear record that the family acted properly.

#Impersonators and Scammers Who Target Grieving Families

Sadly, some people reuse a late person's account or photos, for example a copied profile asking friends for money. Others contact the family directly.

• If the real account starts posting or messaging, someone else has got in. Ask for memorialisation; Instagram and TikTok both say nobody can log in to a memorialised account.
• If a separate profile copies their name and photos, report it with the platform's report tool and keep screenshots with the date and link. Our guides to fake Instagram accounts using someone's identity and TikTok impersonation accounts explain the reports.
• Warn relatives and close friends from your own account, briefly, so nobody sends money to a message that appears to come from the person.

If you already paid or shared a code, the NSRC's FAQ on the NFCC website says to contact your bank's hotline or the NSRC on 997 straight away, then make a police report at the nearest station as soon as possible. It also says the NSRC, the police and banks will never ask for your password, PIN, TAC or OTP. A fake login page or phishing link can be reported to CyberSecurity Malaysia's Cyber999 service.

#What to Expect After You Send a Request

None of the help pages we read publishes a timeframe, so expect to wait and check the email address you gave, including the spam folder. A platform may come back asking for a clearer document or more proof of ownership; reply with exactly what it asks for rather than starting a new request.

• Each platform makes its own decision, and it may decline a request it cannot verify.
• Private messages are generally not released. TikTok says message history on a memorialised account is not accessible, and Google decides data requests case by case.
• Removal and closure cannot be reversed, so be sure the whole family agrees first.

#When a Case Review Makes Sense

Most families can finish this with the steps above, one account at a time. Some would rather hand the paperwork to someone else: when the person ran a business account, when a copied profile keeps reappearing, or when nobody is sure which form fits. SocialSafe by AwareXone, our recovery and content removal service, can look at the situation first and help prepare clear requests through each platform's official forms. We cannot open an account, read private messages or change what a platform decides, and we will never ask for a password or code. You can start from our recovery hub, and our Trust Center explains how we work.

#Frequently Asked Questions