Memorialise or Remove a Facebook Account After a Death

Someone you love has passed away, and their Facebook profile is still there. Birthday reminders still appear, friends keep tagging them, or you simply want the account looked after properly. Many Malaysian families search for this as "akaun Facebook arwah" and find the forms confusing at a hard time.

The short answer: Meta gives you two choices. You can ask for the account to be memorialised, which keeps the profile as a place of remembrance and stops anyone logging in, or, as immediate family or the executor, you can ask for it to be removed. A death certificate is the document that makes either request simplest.

This guide explains both choices, what a legacy contact can do, which Malaysian documents to prepare, and the few things worth deciding before you send anything. Take it at your own pace.

Last checked: 29 September 2026.

#How Do You Memorialise or Remove a Late Family Member's Facebook Account?

To memorialise the account, fill in Meta's Memorialisation Request form with the person's profile, the date they passed away, a scan or photo of proof of death such as a death certificate or obituary, and your email address. To remove it, use Meta's special request form as an immediate family member or executor, with a scan of the death certificate. Before either, find out whether your loved one chose a legacy contact or asked for their account to be deleted after death, because Meta follows that wish. Meta will not give anyone the password, and nobody outside Meta, including AwareXone, can open the account for you.

#Memorialise or Remove: What Each Choice Means

Both are gentle outcomes. The difference is whether the profile stays. Meta's page on reporting a deceased person says it memorialises an account when it receives a valid request, and that friends and family with the correct documents may request removal instead.

If you are unsure, memorialisation is the gentler first step. It keeps photos and posts where friends can still see them, and a legacy contact can still ask for removal later.

#What a Memorialised "Remembering" Profile Looks Like

Meta's page about memorialised accounts describes what changes once the request is accepted:

• The word "Remembering" appears next to the person's name.
• Photos and posts they shared stay on Facebook, visible to the same audience as before.
• Depending on privacy settings, friends can share memories on the profile.
• The profile stops appearing in People You May Know, ads and birthday reminders.
• Nobody can log in to the account.
• Without a legacy contact, the profile cannot be changed at all.

#Did Your Loved One Leave Instructions?

Facebook lets people decide in advance. Meta's page on what happens to your profile if you pass away describes two settings a person can choose in Accounts Center, under "Memorialisation":

• "Memorialise account" with a legacy contact: one Facebook friend they trusted to look after the profile.
• "Delete after death": Meta removes the account immediately and completely once it receives proof of death.

If they chose deletion, Meta's memorialisation form says it will remove the account once it learns of the death, even if you asked for memorialisation. If they chose a legacy contact, the special request form says only that person can request removal. So it helps to ask close friends and family whether anyone was told they are the legacy contact. Meta notifies the legacy contact when the profile is memorialised, according to its page on adding a legacy contact.

#What a Legacy Contact Can and Cannot Do

A legacy contact looks after a memorialised profile. They do not take it over. Meta's pages on legacy contacts and what a legacy contact can do list the limits clearly.

Meta says a person must be 18 or over to choose a legacy contact, and the setting applies only to their main profile, not to additional profiles.

#How to Request Memorialisation

Anyone who knew the person can send this request, but Meta's form reminds friends that memorialisation is a big decision and suggests speaking to the family first.

1. Open Meta's Memorialisation Request form from your own device.
2. Under "Who passed away?", search for the profile. If it does not appear, the form points you to the special request form instead.
3. Enter the date they passed away. Meta says an approximate date is fine if you do not know it exactly.
4. Upload a scan or photo of proof of death. Meta accepts an obituary, death certificate, memorial card or other documentation, and a screenshot if the notice is online.
5. Give an email address you check, so Meta can contact you, then select "Send".

#How to Request Removal

Removal is for immediate family and the executor. Meta's removal page says the fastest way is a scan or photo of the death certificate. Without one, it asks for one document from each list below.

• Proof of authority: power of attorney, a birth certificate (when the person was a minor), a last will and testament, or an estate letter.
• Proof of death: an obituary or a memorial card.

1. Check whether there is a legacy contact. If there is, only they can request removal.
2. Open Meta's special request form and choose removal.
3. Add the profile URL and, if you know it, the email address that may have been used to create the account.
4. Upload the death certificate. The form itself asks for one for removal, so have it ready even though the help page lists alternatives.
5. Cover any personal details Meta does not need, then submit and watch your inbox, including spam.

#Which Documents Work for a Malaysian Family?

Meta's lists were written with no particular country in mind. For most Malaysian families, the answer is simpler: the sijil kematian (death certificate) issued by the National Registration Department, JPN.

JPN's page on normal death registration explains that the hospital, police or DBKL confirms the death and issues the burial permit, and the family collects the certificate at JPN. If the certificate has been lost or is with another relative, JPN's page on the search and extract of the death register lists who may apply. Deaths abroad and in Sabah or Sarawak have their own processes on JPN's death services page.

#A Short Checklist Before You Submit

• The profile link, copied from the browser or the app's share option.
• The date of death, or an approximate one.
• A clear photo or scan of the sijil kematian.
• Any note that links the certificate name to the profile name, if the profile used a nickname.
• Proof of authority, only if you are asking for removal without a death certificate.
• An email address you will check over the coming weeks.

Meta says the details on your documents must match the account. Many Malaysians use a short name or nickname on Facebook, so the match is not always obvious. Meta's pages do not explain how it handles that, so the special request form, which has room for the profile URL and the sign-up email, is the better place to explain.

Meta also suggests covering personal information it does not need. On a Malaysian certificate, you may want to cover details such as the MyKad number or home address, while keeping the name and date of death readable.

#Pages, Groups and Photos: Decide Before You Send

Memorialisation has effects beyond the profile. Meta says a Page whose only admin is memorialised will be removed once a valid request arrives, and a group whose only admin is memorialised will be paused.

• If your loved one ran a shop, community or family business Page alone, speak to the people who rely on it first. Meta's help pages do not describe a way to hand that Page to a relative.
• If they were the only admin of a group, let its members know it will be paused, so nobody is surprised.
• Save public photos and posts you would like to keep. A legacy contact can download a copy only if your loved one turned that on.

Private messages and other content are harder. Meta's page on requesting content from a deceased person's account says it considers such requests only in rare cases, needs proof that you are an authorised representative plus a court order, and does not promise to provide anything. It also memorialises the account once it receives that request.

#What About Instagram?

Instagram has a similar process. Its page on reporting a deceased person's profile says anyone can request memorialisation with proof of death, such as a link to an obituary or news article, and that verified immediate family can request removal with a birth certificate, death certificate or proof of legal authority. Each platform is a separate request, so memorialising Facebook does not change Instagram.

#Mistakes That Slow a Request Down

• Trying to log in to the account. Meta says it is always against its policies to log in to another person's account, even after a death.
• Uploading a blurred or cropped certificate that shows a name Meta cannot match to the profile.
• Asking for removal when a legacy contact exists. Only that person can request it.
• Using the hacked account route. Meta's special request form says that route is for accounts of people who are still alive.

#If Someone Is Using the Account, or You Already Paid

Sometimes a late relative's account starts sending strange messages, often asking friends for money. That usually means someone else has got in. Meta says memorialisation keeps an account secure by preventing anyone from logging in, so a memorialisation request is a sensible step. Warn friends through your own profile, and our guide on what to do when a hacked account messages your friends explains what to tell them.

If you paid someone who promised access, or shared a code, the NSRC's FAQ on the NFCC website says to contact your bank's 24-hour hotline or the NSRC on 997 straight away, then make a police report at the nearest station within 24 hours. It adds that NSRC, PDRM, MCMC, BNM and banks never ask for your password, PIN, TAC or OTP. A fake Meta page or phishing link can be reported to CyberSecurity Malaysia's Cyber999 service. Our explainer on fake Meta support messages shows the scripts these people use.

#When a Family Might Want Help With the Forms

Most families can finish this alone with the steps above, and Meta makes every decision. Some would rather hand the paperwork to someone, for example when a business Page was involved or relatives are unsure which form fits. AwareXone, our recovery service, can look at the situation first and help prepare a clear request through Meta's own forms; it cannot open the account or change what Meta decides. You can start from our recovery hub, and our Trust Center explains that we never ask for passwords or codes. For a living person's account, our Facebook recovery guide is the better place to begin.

#Frequently Asked Questions