A relative or friend has died. Can I preserve their profile, remove it or read their messages?

Keep the exact profile URL, the requested outcome and your relationship or authority together. Share proof only through the relevant official Meta process; ClearRules does not collect documents or submit these requests.

1. Identify the exact profile and platform. A personal profile, Facebook Page and business portfolio are different assets. This guide concerns a person who has died. If a living person’s account was memorialized by mistake, use the platform’s help for that error instead of sending another death report.
2. Clarify the desired outcome and your authority. Memorialization and removal have different consequences. Facebook’s guidance says memorialized content retains its existing audience and nobody can log in. Before seeking deletion, keep copies you already hold lawfully and do not assume the content can be restored later.
3. For Facebook, open the official “Request memorialization or removal” help section in Sources and choose the matching request. A designated legacy contact should use their own Facebook account and its available memorial-management options. That role can manage certain profile features; it cannot log in as the deceased, read messages or freely edit past posts.
4. For Instagram, open the separate “Report a deceased person’s profile” help page in Sources. Meta’s public explanation describes memorialization requests from friends or family. Read the current instructions for your chosen action before proceeding: the current requester and document requirements could not be reconfirmed here. Do not assume Facebook’s legacy-contact tools apply to Instagram.
5. Prepare the profile link, username or displayed name, your relationship or authority, and a clear request. Check what proof of death and, if needed, authority the official page currently accepts. Do not guess dates or claim a family or representative role you do not have. Provide only the requested documents through that official process.
6. If you need private account content, treat that as a separate request. Facebook’s help index has a category for requesting content from a deceased person’s account; a family relationship or legacy-contact role does not itself grant access to messages. Follow its current requirements and seek qualified advice if legal authority is disputed. Do not use the person’s password or recovery codes to bypass the process.
7. Before submitting anything, recheck the profile, platform, requested action and consequences. Only proceed with a removal request if that is the intended outcome and you meet the current conditions. Keep the request confirmation, date and reference if supplied; a receipt is not approval.
8. If help or the form will not open, start again from the official Facebook or Instagram Help Center; use your own account if sign-in is required. If a case already exists, use its reply or update option when offered and address any stated missing information. No response time is verified here. Do not send documents to unofficial recovery contacts. If a business Page is also affected, handle Page access separately rather than treating legacy-contact status as business access.