What happens to a Facebook profile when someone dies, how to name a Legacy Contact and how to memorialise or remove an account.
What happens to a Facebook profile when someone dies, how to name a Legacy Contact and how to memorialise or remove an account.
Yes. A Legacy Contact can look after a memorialised profile. Set one in Settings, Memorialisation Settings. You must be 18 or older to name one.
A family member can ask Facebook to memorialise the profile, which adds ‘Remembering’ to the name and stops it appearing in reminders, or to remove it entirely. You request this through the Help Centre with proof of death such as a death certificate or obituary. Nobody can log in to a memorialised account.
What can a Legacy Contact actually do?
Manage a memorialised profile: pin a post, update the photo, respond to friend requests. They cannot read private messages or log in as the person.
Memorialise or delete?
A personal choice for the family. Memorialising keeps memories and photos; removal deletes everything.
Last reviewed June 2026. Platform processes change, so please confirm on the Facebook help page before acting. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.
Legacy Contact available; set in Settings, Memorialisation Settings. After death: request memorialisation ('Remembering') or removal via the Help Centre with proof of death. No one can log in to a memorialised account. A legacy contact can manage limited parts but cannot read private messages.
