What Happens to Your Digital Assets When You Die?

In January 2016, a 72-year-old widow in Victoria, Canada, picked up her late husband's iPad. She wanted to keep playing a card game they had shared. She had his death certificate and his will. Those papers had already moved the house and the car into her name. Apple still asked for his password or a court order. Only after a CBC reporter called did Apple call it a "misunderstanding."

Ten years on, the tools are better. The gap is the same. A will can move a house. It can't sign anyone into an iPhone.

So who gets your photos if the phone stays locked? What happens when login codes go to a dead number? Does your Kindle library pass to your kids?

This guide explains what happens to digital assets when you die, platform by platform. Most rules below come from each company's own help pages and terms, checked on [publication date]. We cover the US, the UK and the UAE, and we say where a rule applies only in part of the UK. Then we give you a plan you can finish in one afternoon.

What happens to your digital assets when you die? The short answer

What can be inherited, accessed or transferred depends on the type of asset, the provider's terms and the law where you live. Money-like assets, such as crypto, PayPal balances and domain names, usually pass under your will or local inheritance law, though your executor still needs legal authority and practical access. Many bought e-books, songs and games are licenses with transfer restrictions. Online accounts follow each provider's rules, which typically release copies of data, create a memorial or close the account. None of the platforms we checked hands your login to family.

The details decide whether your family spends a weekend on this or a year. Below you'll find:

• A "do nothing" timeline, because deletion clocks start without you.
• A platform-by-platform table of what family can and can't get.
• Why a password is a key, not a legal right.
• Why your will is the wrong place for passwords.
• A five-step plan, with a snapshot of tool prices.

The stakes are real. In early 2026, 48% of US adults had left no instructions for their digital accounts, according to a Trust & Will survey of 5,000 adults. (Trust & Will sells wills, so treat it as an industry survey.) In the UK, only 3% of Which? members had mentioned digital assets in their will.

What counts as a digital asset, and who inherits it?

A digital asset is anything of value or meaning held in electronic form. Think photos, email, cloud files, social profiles, crypto, domain names and loyalty points. To understand what happens to digital assets when you die, sort them into three buckets. For background, see how digital inheritance works (link to the Digital Inheritance: What It Is and How It Works post when live).

Owned assets pass through your estate

Crypto, PayPal balances, domain names and business income have property value. They generally pass under your will or, without one, under local intestacy rules. But owning something isn't the same as reaching it. Your executor still needs legal authority and the actual keys.

Licensed media often can't be passed on

Here's what many people don't realize: you may not fully own your digital library. Many digital purchases are licensed or subject to transfer restrictions. Apple's Media Services Terms, the Steam Subscriber Agreement, Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Kindle Store Terms treat content as licensed or restrict transferring it, and none of the terms we read provides for passing purchases on. Rules can differ by service, country and type of purchase, so check the terms for the specific content and account. Family Sharing may keep a library working for a while. That's a workaround, not an inheritance.

Accounts follow the platform's contract

Your Gmail, iCloud and Facebook accounts are contracts. The company's terms largely decide what happens next, within limits set by local law. Yahoo calls its accounts "non-transferable, even when the account owner is deceased."

A password is a key, not a legal right. Three layers decide every outcome:

1. Legal authority. Your will or intestacy rules decide who inherits. A grant of probate or letters testamentary decides who may act.
2. Platform permission. Each company's legacy tool or deceased-user process decides what it releases.
3. Practical access. Passcodes, login codes and passkeys decide whether anyone gets in.

Miss one layer and the process can stall.

What happens to your accounts if you do nothing?

Doing nothing doesn't freeze your digital life. It can start clocks. Some guides say accounts simply "remain active." The official policy pages tell a more complicated story. Death, inactivity and account closure are different triggers, and what happens can vary by provider, plan and region.

Here's the catch. The order your family acts in can affect what survives. Once a Google account is closed, Google says it can't process a later request for its contents. In May 2026, an Arizona woman told Jewish News that after she memorialized her mother's Facebook account, she lost access she had expected to keep, including to Messenger. What changes after memorialization depends on Facebook's current rules and on whether a legacy contact was named.

Where a provider's rules allow it, and if it fits your family's wishes, follow this order: preserve first, request data second, close or memorialize last.

What happens to your Apple, Google and Microsoft accounts when you die?

Each of these offers a free tool you can set up today.

Apple's Legacy Contact needs the access key you share in advance plus a death certificate. Once Apple approves a request, your contact gets a separate account holding eligible data, never your login. Apple also says it can't remove a passcode lock without erasing the device. That one line explains many of the grief threads online.

Google's Inactive Account Manager runs on inactivity, not death. Google is blunt about one limit. It "cannot provide passwords or other login details."

Microsoft runs two separate processes. OneDrive Digital legacy lets a contact you choose request read-only access to your OneDrive files with a sharing code. Separately, Microsoft's after-death page, updated on 21 October 2026, sets out inactivity and data-retention rules for Outlook.com, OneDrive and the account itself. Microsoft's OneDrive page suggests the sharing code could be kept in a will or given to a lawyer or executor. We'd keep it out of your will, which may become public, and store it somewhere secure that you keep up to date. The will section below explains why.

What happens to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp?

Social platforms generally give family limited management, not control.

• Facebook lets you name a legacy contact or request deletion. The contact can manage parts of a memorialized profile, such as pinning a tribute post, but "will not be able to log in" or read messages.
• Instagram memorializes or removes profiles. It is "unable to provide anyone with login information."
• TikTok was reported in August 2026 to be adding a legacy contact setting, based on in-app screenshots. Those reports say the contact can't log in or read messages. We couldn't find an official TikTok help page confirming availability or limits when we checked, so treat this as reported, not confirmed.
• WhatsApp offers no legacy feature. Chats are generally stored on the phone and in any backups the person made.
• X, Snapchat and Discord offer deactivation or deletion on request, not account access.

Think twice before you memorialize, and check what the platform says will change first.

What happens to money in PayPal, crypto exchanges and airline miles?

Money held with a provider follows that provider's own, country-specific process. A provider may release eligible funds to an authorized estate representative, but none of the processes below hands over the login. Airline miles are the main exception: they often aren't treated as the member's property at all.

• PayPal (US) may pay the balance to the authorized executor or administrator by check "in the name of the deceased account holder." It adds, "We do not change ownership of the funds."
• PayPal (UK) accepts an indemnity form for balances under £5,000. Above that, it asks for a grant of probate or letters of administration.
• Coinbase moves assets into the recipient's own Coinbase account after reviewing estate papers. It offers no beneficiary designation.
• Binance runs an "Inheritance Appeal" that it says usually takes one to two months. Kraken asks for an official death certificate and probate papers.
• Airline miles often end with the account. British Airways says Avios "cannot be bequeathed." American Airlines and Delta may credit miles, but only at their discretion.

What happens to crypto in a self-custody wallet?

Self-custody crypto has no company to call. Whoever holds the recovery phrase controls the coins. If nobody has it, there may be no way to recover them. Early bitcoin investor Mircea Popescu drowned in June 2021. He reportedly held a vast amount of bitcoin, and its fate is still unknown. Plan this part with a crypto security specialist. Never write a recovery phrase into a will or email.

What does the law say about your digital assets when you die?

Keep these three systems separate. They don't mix, and a qualified local lawyer should advise on your own situation.

United States: an online tool can override your will on disclosure

Nearly every US state has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, or RUFADAA. The ABA's Probate & Property journal put the count at 48 states in early 2026. Louisiana and Massachusetts have not adopted it, according to a Massachusetts Legislature bill summary. Check the Uniform Law Commission's page for the current status in your state.

RUFADAA sets a priority order for directions about disclosure. A direction you give in a provider's online tool, such as Apple Legacy Contact, comes first. Explicit directions in your will, trust or power of attorney come next. The terms of service are the fallback. So an online-tool setting can override a conflicting instruction in your will about what a provider discloses. It doesn't decide who owns your assets, and it doesn't let a named contact log in as you.

RUFADAA also splits email in two. Executors can usually request the "catalogue," meaning who you wrote to and when. Message content generally needs your express consent or a court order. In Ajemian v. Yahoo (2017), Massachusetts' highest court ruled on a dead man's emails. It held that the federal Stored Communications Act lets Yahoo release them but doesn't force it to.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland: property law moved, access law didn't

The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 came into force on 2 December 2025. It extends to England and Wales and to Northern Ireland, but not to Scotland. Its effect is narrow: it confirms that a digital thing can be personal property even if it doesn't fit the traditional categories, as the Law Commission explains. It doesn't itself give relatives or executors a general right to log in to anyone's accounts, and no UK law gives next of kin a general right of access. Jools' Law, passed in April 2026, will require platforms to preserve a child's data for coroners once it comes into force. It isn't an inheritance right.

UAE: separate succession systems and a DIFC digital assets will

The UAE runs separate succession rules for Muslims, for non-Muslims under federal law and for non-Muslims in Abu Dhabi. The DIFC Courts offer a Digital Assets Will for supported assets assigned through the testator's DIFC Courts non-custodial wallet. It does not cover ordinary social or email accounts. At the time of writing, the fee was AED 5,000 for a single will and AED 7,500 for mirror wills; check the DIFC Courts' current fee schedule before you register. UAE lawyers told Khaleej Times in June 2026 that "legal ownership and practical control can differ." Speak to a UAE-qualified lawyer before you plan.

Why shouldn't you put passwords in your will?

Because a will may become publicly searchable after probate, depending on the jurisdiction. In England and Wales, anyone can order a copy of a probated will through GOV.UK for £16. In the US, the rules are set state by state, but a will filed for probate generally becomes part of the court record. Yet 58% of UK adults polled in 2024 thought passwords belonged in a will.

Passwords also go stale. A will signed in 2026 may be read in 2056.

Use your will for authority. Name your executor, give consent for digital access where your local law allows it, and say who inherits what. Keep the account list and access details somewhere secure, outside the will. Then tell your executor where to look.

Can your family use your passwords after you die?

Passwords, passkeys and login codes are the real lock. Every after-death process we checked withholds them.

The average NordPass user juggles about 120 personal passwords, the company reported in 2026. Passkeys create a new problem for executors. Many sit behind a phone's screen lock. If nobody knows the passcode, the passkey may as well not exist.

Then there's two-factor authentication. In October 2024, a widower in Rocklin, California, couldn't reach his late wife's email. The codes kept going to her deactivated number. Reporters had to step in.

Can family legally log in with a password you shared? It depends on the jurisdiction and the facts. Logging in without authority may breach provider terms and may engage computer-access laws, such as the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act or the UK's Computer Misuse Act 1990, depending on the circumstances. Nolo warns that sharing login details "will likely violate" an email provider's terms of service. The safer route is for an executor to get legal authority first.

Password managers with emergency access are the exception, because you arranged them in advance. Read why a password manager alone isn't a complete legacy plan. If your own logins need work, start with stronger passwords for every account. Our guide to passwords, passkeys and recovery codes after death (link to the Passwords, Passkeys, 2FA and Recovery Codes post when live) goes deeper.

What goes wrong for real families?

Families may face delays or refusals when a request doesn't meet a provider's documentation or account-access requirements. Two cases show how that can play out.

1. The photos that needed a judge. Ric Swezey was his family's photographer. In 2019, his husband asked a Manhattan court for the photos in Swezey's Apple account. Apple didn't contest it but "said it needed to see a court order."
2. Nine months for about $800. In 2019, a British Columbia widow spent about nine months retrieving nearly $800 from her husband's PayPal account. Her faxes were rejected as "too dark or too light."

Both families had a fair claim. What they lacked was a plan made in advance, which can save months.

How do you plan what happens to your digital assets when you die?

You don't need a 40-page document. You need five moves and one afternoon.

1. List what you have (one to two hours). Note each account, device and wallet, and who should get what. Leave passwords out of the list. Use our digital asset inventory checklist (link to the Digital Asset Inventory checklist post when live), and start keeping your digital information in one protected place.
2. Turn on the free platform tools (minutes each). Apple's Legacy Contact takes a few minutes to set up. Our legacy contacts guide (link to the Apple, Google and Facebook Legacy Contacts post when live) shows each setting.
3. Give legal authority (one lawyer meeting). Name an executor. In the US, give express consent for digital assets, including message content. See our digital estate planning guide (link to the Digital Estate Planning guide post when live).
4. Store access details outside the will (about an hour). Use a password manager with emergency access, a secure vault or both.
5. Review once a year (20 minutes). Microsoft and British Airways both updated their rules on 21 October 2026.

Which tools help, and what do they cost?

This table is a snapshot, not a permanent comparison. We compared nine tools on what your contact actually receives. Prices are US list prices in US dollars, on annual billing unless shown otherwise, checked on [publication date]. Most emergency-access features need a paid plan, and your contact usually needs an account with the same provider. Features and prices change, so check each provider's official pricing page before you buy. We didn't rank the tools, because each solves a different slice.

Our view: switch on every free tool you use, then add one password manager with emergency access. Bitwarden is the lowest-cost option in this comparison. 1Password is a strong everyday password manager, but it does not offer a timed individual legacy handover.

What does it cost to plan, and what does it cost not to?

Planning is cheap. Built-in tools are free. A password manager with emergency access runs about $20 to $40 a year at the snapshot prices above. Online wills run from $0 at FreeWill to $549 for LegalZoom's premium trust.

Not planning can cost far more. US wills and estates lawyers average $371 an hour, according to Clio's 2026 data. One US writer was quoted $750 by a lawyer for a single Apple court order, and you may need one per platform. A UK widow's fight for her husband's Apple photos cost "many thousands of pounds." In England and Wales, the probate fee alone is £300 for estates of £5,000 or more.

Where does Vaultix fit in your digital estate plan?

Vaultix is an encrypted vault for the instructions, documents, letters and files you want someone to have. You configure the release triggers, such as a period without check-ins. You assign one beneficiary to each item. After the configured trigger and verification steps are completed, each assigned item transfers to that beneficiary's Vaultix account. The beneficiary can continue using Vaultix or download their data and close the account.

Each beneficiary receives the items you assigned to them, such as your account list, letters and copies of key documents. They don't become the owner of your Apple, Google, bank or exchange accounts. Those still follow each platform's rules and the law. Vaultix can't change what Google or Apple does with your accounts. It can help the right person know what to do next.

Vaultix states that your data is encrypted on your device before it reaches its servers. Read client-side encryption explained and how Vaultix protects what you store. Then see how release triggers and check-ins work, compare Vaultix plans or create your vault.

Frequently asked questions about digital assets when you die

Can my family get into my iPhone after I die?

A family member generally cannot unlock the iPhone without its passcode, and Apple says it can't remove a passcode lock without erasing the device. An Apple Legacy Contact may request eligible iCloud data using the access key and required documentation.

Is a death certificate enough to access someone's accounts?

Not usually on its own. A death certificate alone often does not provide account access; the provider may also require proof of authority, a court order or other documents, depending on the request and jurisdiction.

Does my will cover my digital assets?

It can cover things with value, like crypto and PayPal balances, depending on local law. In US states that have adopted RUFADAA, it can also give consent for providers to disclose your accounts' contents. It can't unlock a device.

What happens to my Gmail when I die?

If you set up Inactive Account Manager, your contacts can receive the data you chose once your inactivity timer runs out. Without it, family can submit a request to Google, which decides after a review.

What happens to my Facebook account when I die?

Family can ask Facebook to memorialize or remove it. Your legacy contact can manage parts of the memorial, but Facebook says they can't log in as you.

Can I leave my Kindle books, music or games to someone?

Usually not. Many purchases from stores such as Amazon, Apple, Steam and Audible are licensed or restricted from transfer, and the terms we read don't provide for passing them on. Check the terms for your specific store and country.

What happens to crypto when you die?

Exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance and Kraken may release eligible assets to an authorized representative or beneficiary after reviewing estate documents, under their own processes. With self-custody crypto, whoever holds the keys or recovery phrase controls the coins.

Should I put my passwords in my will?

No. A will may become publicly searchable after probate, depending on the jurisdiction. Keep passwords in a password manager or secure vault, and tell your executor where to find them.

Is it illegal to log in to a dead person's account?

Logging in without authority may breach the provider's terms and may engage computer-access laws, depending on the jurisdiction and circumstances. Get legal authority first.

What happens to my PayPal money when I die?

PayPal may release the balance to an authorized executor or administrator under its country-specific process. In the US, it pays by check in the deceased account holder's name. In the UK, the documents it asks for depend on the amount.

Do airline miles pass to heirs?

Often not. British Airways' terms say Avios are canceled on death. American Airlines and Delta may credit miles, but only at their discretion.

How long before my accounts are deleted?

It depends on the provider, and each clock has a different trigger. Google may delete a personal account after two years of inactivity. Microsoft says Outlook.com and OneDrive content may be frozen and deleted after about a year without use, and accounts are closed after two years of inactivity. OneDrive Digital legacy is a separate feature you set up in advance. Request data before closing anything.

What should you do first?

Remember the widow with the iPad? Her papers moved a house but not a password. You have tools she didn't, and most take minutes.

So do the smallest thing today. Turn on Apple Legacy Contact or Google Inactive Account Manager. Then make your list and tell one person where it lives. Much of what happens to your digital assets when you die is decided now, while you're alive.

Here's our prediction. More platforms are likely to add legacy contacts; TikTok was reported to be adding one in 2026. Passkeys are likely to replace many passwords, which makes your phone passcode even more important. Plans built on a password list will age badly. Plans built on authority, platform tools and one safe place for instructions will last.

For the full picture, read our digital inheritance planning guide. Questions about your setup? Talk to the Vaultix team.

Which account would you hate your family to lose? Tell us in the comments, and we'll cover the most requested ones in our Accounts After Death series.