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Why it matters
Digital legacy planning can feel like something for later. Here is what a few hours actually achieves, and what can happen when planning is left too late. Most of these steps can only be done by you, while you are alive.
Nothing is planned
- Family members contact platforms with death certificates and may wait months for a response
- Some platforms give families no access at all, so sentimental content stays locked away
- Subscriptions keep charging for months before anyone notices
- Online bank accounts are found late, holding up the administration of the estate
- Photos kept only on Facebook may be impossible for the family to download
- Family members disagree about what the person would have wanted for their social media
- Years of emails, messages, and creative work can be lost for good
A few hours of planning
- The people the person chose are already set up on the main platforms
- Subscriptions are found from the account inventory and cancelled quickly
- Their wishes for each account are written down, leaving less room for disagreement
- Photos are backed up and available to the people chosen straight away
- Online accounts are found from the inventory, so far less is overlooked
- The executor can close accounts and preserve memories in weeks, not months of guesswork
What you achieve by time invested
⏱ 30 minutes
The people you trust can act on your biggest accounts
Legacy settings on Facebook, Apple, and Google. No technical knowledge needed.
What you achieve
- Facebook lets the person you choose look after your profile once it is memorialised, and download a copy of what you shared if you allow it
- Apple lets the people you name request the data in your Apple Account, such as photos, notes, and files, using the access key and a death certificate
- Google follows your instructions once your account has been inactive for the period you choose: sharing data with your trusted contacts, deleting the account, or both
- Three of your most important accounts have a plan, instead of depending on each company's default policy
- The people you trust can use each platform's own process, which is far simpler than an executor starting from nothing
Actions needed
- 1.Set a Facebook legacy contact, and allow them to download your data (5 min)
- 2.Set an Apple Legacy Contact and keep a printed copy of the access key (5 min)
- 3.Set up Google Inactive Account Manager (10 min)
- 4.Tell the people you chose, and note what you have set up
Without this: each platform's standard policy for deceased users applies. That can mean long waits, limited access, or the account being deleted, and some families never get the content back.
How to set these up (step-by-step) →⏱ 2 hours
Your executor knows what exists
An account inventory and password access
What you achieve
- Your executor has a list of the accounts you use and what you want done with each
- Your executor can see every account you have, through your password manager's emergency access or a sealed record, and knows to use each provider's own process where there is one
- Subscriptions can be found and cancelled quickly, so they stop charging
- Online banking and investment accounts can be identified and included in the estate
- Fewer accounts are missed because no one knew they existed
Actions needed
- 1.Create an account inventory: list every account you use
- 2.For each account, note what it contains and what you want done with it
- 3.Set up a password manager with emergency access (for example, Bitwarden)
- 4.Or write your passwords down and keep them sealed, alongside your will but not in it
- 5.Tell your executor where the inventory and passwords are
Without this: executors have to piece accounts together from emails, bank statements, and memory. Some accounts turn up months later and some are never found, along with the emails, messages, and creative work inside them.
Open the action checklist →⏱ Half a day
Your wishes, in writing, where your executor can find them
A Digital Wishes document and a will clause (plus an appointment with your solicitor)
What you achieve
- Your executor has clear written instructions, and your written permission, for dealing with your digital accounts
- Your will refers to your Digital Wishes document, so your executor knows it exists and where to find it
- If anyone disagrees about what should happen to your accounts, your written wishes give a clear answer
- Your digital executor knows their role and has what they need to carry it out
- Wishes that need a platform's cooperation are set up in that platform's own settings, not left to your will
Actions needed
- 1.Write a "Digital Wishes" document, with a short paragraph for each important account
- 2.Name a digital executor (this can be the same person as your main executor)
- 3.Ask your solicitor to add a digital assets clause to your will that refers to your Digital Wishes document
- 4.Give your digital executor a copy of your account inventory
Without this: your executor has to guess what you wanted, and people may disagree with no way to settle it. Remember that a will records your wishes but cannot make a platform cooperate, which is why the 30-minute step matters most.
Irish legal context →⏱ A full day
Your photos and memories are safe and easy to find
Backups, organisation, and optional personal letters
What you achieve
- Your photos are stored in at least two places you control, so they survive if a service closes or a phone is lost
- Important documents are backed up where the people you choose can reach them
- Your photos are organised and labelled: a gift for anyone you choose to leave them to, not an overwhelming pile of files
- Personal letters or messages are written and stored alongside your will
Actions needed
- 1.Download your Facebook photos (Accounts Centre → Your information and permissions → Export your information)
- 2.Download your Google Photos library (takeout.google.com)
- 3.Back up your phone photos to a cloud service and to an external hard drive
- 4.Organise your backed-up photos into labelled folders or albums
- 5.Write personal letters to anyone you'd like to, and store them alongside your will
- 6.Scan important paper documents, such as certificates, key letters, and family records
Without this: photos kept only on Facebook or your phone are at risk. Phones get lost, stolen, or broken, and online services change their policies, get bought, or shut down. Photos are what most families care about most, and they are also the easiest to lose.
Long-term archive options →Ready to start?
The priority guide shows you which action to take first. The checklist helps you track your progress.