Our digital lives now extend far beyond social media, shaping how we manage finances, store memories, and communicate with our loved ones. Through my research I have spoken with people receiving palliative care, their families and the professionals supporting them, as well as bereaved people.
I’ve heard stories about how the digital lives we leave behind after we die can become a source of stress when unplanned for, but also a source of comfort and connection when they’re addressed. These conversations highlight the need to move beyond seeing digital legacy as just “admin” and take a holistic approach that recognises it as part of a wider system of care, relationships and decisions at the end of life.
What happens to our digital lives when we die?
Michael’s family knew he was dying. They had talked about where he wanted to be cared for, what mattered to him and how he wanted to be remembered.
There was one thing they hadn’t discussed though. After his death, his phone remained locked, his laptop inaccessible and his various accounts and passwords difficult to make sense of. His photos, videos, messages – and much of his identity – were locked behind passwords unknown to his family.
Stories like this reflect an increasingly common experience. When we die today, we leave behind not just physical belongings, but an entire digital life.
The digital legacy we aren’t planning for
Digital technologies are now embedded in most parts of our daily lives, from online banking and subscriptions to photos, emails, and social media. Yet while conversations about wills, funerals, and advance care planning have become more routine, digital legacy is often left out entirely.
When discussed, it’s often limited only to social media accounts, for example setting up loved ones as legacy contacts so they can access social media accounts after someone’s death.
In reality, digital legacy is far broader and spans financial, practical, and deeply personal aspects of our lives. Research exploring the experiences of people receiving palliative care, and their families reveals a clear gap: digital legacy is widely recognised as important but is rarely addressed in practice and for many it remains the elephant in the room.
More than admin
A person’s digital legacy can easily be thought of as an administrative issue, navigating passwords, accounts and access. But without planning families can face both practical and emotional consequences.
Alongside challenges like managing finances or closing accounts, there’s also potential loss of meaningful memories stored digitally, and these photos, messages, and voice recordings capture aspects of our identity that physical belongings often can’t.
For bereaved people these digital fragments of a loved one’s identity can be both a source of comfort and distress. The constant accessibility can shape the grieving process, sometimes helping them feel connected and at other times making it harder to process loss.
Difficult conversations
The topic of digital legacy is difficult to address. Some people feel overwhelmed by the scale and complexity of their digital lives, while others are unsure where to begin or are concerned about privacy. Raising the topic can feel like acknowledging the reality of death, which can be difficult in either family or clinical settings.
There are also practical barriers. Although tools like password managers and legacy settings on social media platforms exist, awareness of these is low and they can be difficult to navigate. Responsibility then falls on individuals without the support they need – often at a time when they’re least able to navigate it.
Understanding digital legacy planning as a process
Once families recognise that action is needed, there are a series of interconnected experiences to be grappled with: dealing with the rapid pace of digital change, managing practical arrangements, responding to fears of loss, and adjusting to new ways of thinking about memory and identity.
Of course, these experiences aren’t linear, and the responsibility for dealing with a loved one’s digital legacy can shift between patients, families, caregivers, and bereaved people. Healthcare professionals are part of this process too, as they can support these conversations as part of holistic care.
This all sits within a wider system shaped by organisational, societal and technological factors. Digital legacy is therefore not just a personal issue, it is influenced by how services are designed, how technology is developed and how comfortable we are as a society in talking about death.
Bringing it into routine care
Digital legacy does not need to be treated as a specialist issue. It can be integrated into conversations that are already happening in advance care planning.
In practice this may involve simple steps: helping people identify key digital accounts, consider how access might be shared with loved ones, and reflect on what digital memories they’d like to leave behind. For healthcare professionals, the role is not to provide technical expertise, but to recognise digital legacy as part of person-centred care and create space for these conversations. Just raising the topic can help people begin to take action.
Technology companies also have a role in making tools more visible and accessible, enabling people to act earlier and with greater confidence. Normalising these conversations is key. When digital legacy is approached alongside other aspects of planning, it becomes more manageable and meaningful for those involved.
What we leave behind
We have long understood the importance of planning for what we leave behind, but much of our legacy now exists in digital form. Often hidden behind accounts and dispersed across platforms, it can be difficult to access or make sense of without preparation.
Planning for digital legacy is therefore not only about admin and organisation, but about preserving identity, protecting memories, and reducing the burden on those who are bereaved.
The challenge is to ensure this becomes a routine part of end of life care - supported by individuals, professionals, and the systems around them - in an increasingly digital world.