What to do first
Not everything about digital legacy is equally urgent. This guide ranks every action from critical to optional so you can focus your time where it matters most.
Critical
Do todaySet legacy contacts on all major platforms
⏱ 5–10 minutesWithout a legacy contact, your accounts may be locked permanently when you die, with no one able to access, memoralise, or close them. This is the single most impactful action you can take.
- →Facebook: Settings → Your Facebook Information → Memorialisation Settings → Add legacy contact
- →Apple: Settings → [Your Name] → Password & Security → Legacy Contact
- →Google: myaccount.google.com → Data & Privacy → More options → Make a plan for your account (Inactive Account Manager)
- →For step-by-step screenshots, see the Platform Guides.
Give your executor emergency access to your passwords
⏱ 30–60 minutesYour executor cannot close, transfer, or manage your accounts if they cannot log in. Every month, families face costly legal battles or simply lose access to sentimental content because no password was recorded.
- →Use a password manager with an emergency access feature: 1Password (Emergency Kit) or Bitwarden (Emergency Access) are the most widely recommended today. LastPass offers the same feature, but its 2022 data breaches are worth weighing if you are choosing a password manager for the first time.
- →Alternatively: write passwords in a secure physical document stored with your will. Update it annually.
- →Tell your executor where to find it — and make sure your will references it explicitly.
- →Do not email passwords to anyone or store them in a notes app.
High
This weekWrite down what you want to happen to each account
⏱ 1–2 hoursYour executor cannot honour wishes you have not expressed. Without written instructions, family members may disagree, platforms may default to deletion, and accounts you wanted preserved may be lost.
- →For each major account, decide: (1) Memoralise and keep accessible, (2) Delete immediately, (3) Transfer content to a family member, (4) Donate to an archive or institution.
- →Write your decisions in a document titled "Digital Wishes" — store it with your will.
- →Tell your solicitor and executor where this document is.
- →Review it every two years or when you add a major new account.
Include digital assets in your will
⏱ 1–3 hours (with solicitor)Irish law does not automatically give your executor the right to access digital accounts. A clause in your will explicitly naming digital assets, appointing a digital executor, and referencing your "Digital Wishes" document gives them legal standing.
- →Ask your solicitor to add a "digital assets" clause to your will.
- →Name a digital executor — this can be the same person as your general executor or someone more technically comfortable.
- →Reference your Digital Wishes document and password access method by name.
- →Consider granting explicit permission for your digital executor to access, modify, and close accounts on your behalf.
Medium
This monthCreate an account inventory
⏱ 1–2 hoursMost people underestimate how many accounts they have. Without an inventory, your executor will waste weeks tracking down accounts — or simply miss them. An inventory also helps you identify accounts you can close now.
- →List every online account you have: social media, email, banking, streaming, subscriptions, shopping, creative platforms, cloud storage.
- →For each: record the platform name, your username/email, what it contains, and your wishes for it.
- →Store the list with your will. Update it annually.
- →The Liscairn checklist includes a printable account inventory template.
Back up your photos to a non-platform storage
⏱ 2–4 hours (plus ongoing)Photos stored only on Facebook, Instagram, or your phone are at risk. Platforms change, get acquired, or get shut down. Your phone can be stolen. An external backup means your photos survive platform changes and your family can access them without needing your login.
- →Download all your Facebook photos: Settings → Your Facebook Information → Download Your Information.
- →Download all your Google Photos: takeout.google.com.
- →Back up your phone photos to iCloud, Google Photos, or an external hard drive — ideally all three.
- →Organise backed-up photos into folders by year or event so they are useful to your family, not just a pile of files.
Lower
When you have timeCurate and organise your photos
⏱ Several hours to ongoingA curated, labelled photo collection is a meaningful gift to the people you leave behind. Unlabelled photos of strangers at a party are not. This is valuable but lower priority — it is meaningless if the photos are not backed up first.
- →Label important photos with names and dates if your software supports it.
- →Delete duplicates and low-quality photos to make the collection manageable.
- →Create albums for major life events.
- →Consider writing captions for the most important images — context is lost quickly after death.
Write letters or messages for people you will leave behind
⏱ VariableMany people wish they had one more message from someone they have lost. A letter, video, or voice message can be an extraordinary gift. This is personal rather than administrative — do it when you feel moved to, not as a task.
- →Write a letter to each person you want to reach. Store physical letters with your will.
- →Record a video or voice message and store it on a backed-up drive or cloud folder.
- →Some password managers and services allow you to schedule digital messages to be sent after a trigger event — explore this if it appeals.
- →Tell your executor these letters exist and where to find them.
Optional
For enthusiastsCreate a digital archive for long-term preservation
⏱ Full day or longerIf you want your archive to last decades, not just years, a formal digital archive — with redundant copies, format migration, and institutional-quality metadata — is the gold standard. This is beyond what most people need but appropriate for those with significant creative, professional, or historical content.
- →Services like Permanent.org (nonprofit, endowment-funded) offer genuine long-term preservation with multiple backup copies.
- →For physical items: scan documents and photos at 600 DPI minimum. Consider professional scanning services for irreplaceable items.
- →Store copies in at least three locations: home drive, cloud, and physical media.
- →Consider donating relevant materials to an institutional archive (National Library, university, local county archive).
Ready to tick these off?
Use the interactive checklist to track your progress through every action in this guide.
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