--- title: "Digital legacy after death" description: "Photos, email, social media and crypto are not covered by a will automatically. How to leave access instructions that work." url: "https://swiftwill.co.uk/digital-legacy/" author: "Marcus Kaiser" date_modified: "2026-08-12" --- # Digital legacy after death Your digital legacy is everything stored in your online accounts — photos, emails, social media, music, cloud files and cryptocurrency. Most of it dies with you unless you plan ahead: use each platform's legacy tools, keep a secure inventory of accounts, and leave instructions alongside your will — never passwords inside it. > SwiftWill provides legal information and software for England & Wales under Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837. Figures are taken from gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk and HMCTS, checked 12 August 2026. We have not given you legal advice — this is general information. ## What counts as a digital legacy? Your digital legacy is everything you own or store online: photos and videos in the cloud, email and social media accounts, music and film libraries, domain names, investment apps, loyalty balances — and cryptocurrency. Some of it has real financial value; much of it is simply irreplaceable, like two decades of family photographs. Even ordinary money follows formal procedures your executor will recognise — see [bank accounts after death](/bank-accounts-after-death/) — while a photo library is governed by a login page and terms of service nobody reads. ## Do social platforms have their own legacy tools? The big platforms now offer official ways to pass on — or shut down — accounts after death: - **Apple Legacy Contact** — names people who can access your iCloud photos, notes and files after you die ( [Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT212360) ). - **Google Inactive Account Manager** — decides what happens to Gmail, Drive and Photos if your account goes quiet ( [Google Support](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546) ). - **Facebook** — lets you name a legacy contact to manage a memorialised profile, or ask for the account to be deleted ( [Facebook Help Centre](https://www.facebook.com/help) ). Each takes about ten minutes and none costs anything. They work far better than anything your family can improvise later. ## What happens to cryptocurrency when you die? Crypto assets are property, and they pass under your will or the intestacy rules like anything else you own. But ownership and access are different things: without the private keys or seed phrase, the assets are lost forever, and no court, solicitor or exchange can recover them. Store keys and seed phrases securely — a hardware wallet, a safe, a reputable password manager — and make sure your executor knows they exist and where the recovery instructions live. Never write them into the will itself: wills become public documents after probate, so anything inside one is visible to anyone who asks. ## What can an executor do with digital accounts? Your [executor](/what-is-an-executor/) has the authority to deal with your estate — but logging into your accounts with passwords you left behind sits in a legal grey area, and unauthorised access can breach the [Computer Misuse Act 1990](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/18) even with the best intentions. The safe route is always the provider's own deceased-user process, which the legacy tools above are designed to shortcut. Executors should notify platforms formally rather than improvise with a saved password. ## How do you leave a digital legacy that actually works? 1. **Make a secure inventory** — list your important accounts, devices and wallets in a password manager or a sealed document. 2. **Switch on the platform legacy tools** — Apple, Google, Facebook, and any others you use heavily. 3. **Leave instructions with your will, not in it** — store the inventory wherever you [store your will](/where-to-store-a-will/), and reference it there. 4. **Tell your executor the inventory exists** — they do not need the passwords today; they need to know where to look. 5. **Keep it current** — review the list when you change devices or open new accounts. Every SwiftWill will includes a digital assets provision that points your executors to this separate inventory — so the plan works without ever exposing a password in a public document. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do my family inherit my photos? The photos themselves, usually yes — but the account holding them is governed by the provider's terms, not your will alone. Apple and Google both let you nominate people who can download your data after you die. Set those up now; without them, families often face long support processes or lose everything. ### Can my executor access my email? Not automatically. Email providers treat accounts as private and usually insist on their own deceased-user process. Logging in with a password you left behind can even breach the Computer Misuse Act 1990. The safe route is each provider's official process — and planning ahead so your executor never needs it. ### What happens to cryptocurrency when I die? Crypto is property and passes under your will or the intestacy rules — but only if someone can reach it. Without the private keys or seed phrase, the assets are lost forever; no court, solicitor or exchange can recover them. Store keys securely, make sure your executor knows they exist, and leave retrieval instructions with your will — never in it. ### Should I put my passwords in my will? Never. A will becomes a public document once probate is granted, so anything written in it — passwords, PINs, seed phrases — becomes visible to anyone who asks for a copy. Keep credentials in a secure password manager or a sealed inventory stored alongside your will instead. ### What is a digital will? Two different things get called a digital will: a will that deals with digital assets (which SwiftWill provides through a digital assets provision), and a will made or signed electronically — which is not yet valid in England & Wales, where the law still requires paper, ink and two witnesses, though reform has been proposed. Canonical HTML: https://swiftwill.co.uk/digital-legacy/ Markdown: https://swiftwill.co.uk/digital-legacy.md Last modified: 2026-08-12 Author: Marcus Kaiser (https://swiftwill.co.uk/author/marcus-kaiser/)