How Do I Access a Deceased User's Facebook Account?

In the unfortunate event of a Facebook user's death, the company will memorialize the deceased user's page as a place for friends and family to share memories. In general, the only way to access the page after that is to be the legacy contact of the deceased user. There are, however, sometimes exceptions made for family members.

Adam Goldkamp is the editor / author responsible for this content.
Dec 9, 2022

In the unfortunate event of someone's passing, there are a lot of matters to see to, including taking care of social media accounts such as a Facebook page. If you want to learn how to access a deceased user's Facebook account, this is the article for you.

Memorializing a Facebook Account

It is Facebook's policy to memorialize the accounts of deceased users, making them into places where the deceased person's friends and family can come to share memories of that person. The content of the deceased person's account can be viewed by everyone who that person had already authorized to see it. If the deceased user had named a person as a legacy contact, that person can control who is able to view and post tributes on the memorialized account.

Accessing the Account as a Legacy Contact

If you were named as the legacy contact, you can manage the memorialized account by following these steps:

  1. Go to the deceased person's memorialized profile.
  2. Click on Manage in the lower right corner of the photo.
  3. Use the menu on the left side of the page to manage the account.

Accessing the Account as a Relative of the Deceased

As a general rule, Facebook does not allow anyone other than a legacy contact to access a deceased user's account. It will make exceptions in certain cases, though, generally for relatives of the deceased. To request access, you can contact a Facebook customer service representative. You may be required to provide proof of relation, proof of death, and a court order for access. Even then, access is not guaranteed and is at Facebook's discretion.

Contacting Facebook

To get in contact with a Facebook customer service representative, you can use the Facebook help desk, email, chat room, or phone line.

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Adam has been tirelessly trying to help customers find the best tips and tricks to get through phone trees and writing many guides for prickly customer service problems. He's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inside Edition and Bloomberg.
How Do I Access a Deceased User's Facebook Account?

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Asked 3 years ago
Updated 2 years ago
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access deceased Facebook user's page
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