What Happens to Social Accounts and Digital Identity After Death

The average person holds more than 20 online accounts — WeChat, QQ, Alipay, Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Taobao, JD.com, Baidu, email, iCloud, gaming platforms, and more. When you pass away, these accounts don't disappear on their own, nor do they transfer to your family automatically. Each platform has its own policy, but they share one requirement: your family needs the password. Further reading: How to pass cryptocurrency and digital assets to your family.

Major platforms' post-death policies

• WeChat — Accounts left inactive for a long period may be reclaimed. Withdrawing any balance requires notarized documents and takes 1–3 months.
• Alipay — Inheriting a balance requires a death certificate, the heir's ID, and a notarial deed. The process is involved, but the funds can be recovered once completed.
• QQ — Numbers may be reclaimed after 3 months of inactivity. Qzone content, photo albums, and blog entries are permanently deleted.
• Weibo — Family can apply to convert the account into a memorial profile, but they must contact customer support directly.
• Douyin — Family can apply to close the account with a death certificate. There is no inheritance option.
• Xiaohongshu — No clear published policy. Accounts left inactive for a long time may be frozen.
• Apple ID / iCloud — After death, family can ask Apple for data access with a death certificate, but approval is not guaranteed.

The fastest path: hand over the passwords

Working through each platform's support, submitting proof, and waiting for review can take months. Most of the time, family simply wants to log in to WeChat to read chat history or export photos from iCloud. TimeWill encrypts the passwords and releases them automatically when the heartbeat check-in fails — a three-minute setup, with no back-and-forth with support.

Account handover checklist

Build a complete account list: the platform name, username, password, and the phone or email bound to each one. Pay special attention to WeChat and Alipay — these two involve money. Also note the two-factor authentication code or the phone number tied to it — without these, the password alone won't get anyone in. Put it all together once so your family isn't left hunting account by account.

How to hand over Google Authenticator 2FA

The recovery codes are what really matter for Google Authenticator — not the 6-digit rotating code, but the 8-digit backup codes issued when you first set it up. Store these backup codes in TimeWill's encrypted vault. If you can no longer find them, go into each account's settings and regenerate a new set now.

Can chat history be preserved?

Technically yes — once family has your password they can log in and export it. But think about privacy: some conversations you may not want anyone to see. TimeWill lets you split access by person and by content — the WeChat password can go only to your spouse, the private key to your son, and private chat history set to never release. You decide.