How to set up a Facebook legacy contact (2026 guide)
How to set up a Facebook legacy contact in 2026: the exact Settings path, what they can and can't do after memorialization, plus how it compares to Apple and Google.
To set up a Facebook legacy contact, open Settings & privacy, go to Accounts Center, then Personal details, then Account ownership and control, and select Memorialization to name a trusted friend. A legacy contact looks after your profile if it's memorialized after you pass away — they manage limited parts of it but never get full login access. You must be 18 or older to choose one.
Naming a legacy contact is one small handoff decision: you pick a person now so your profile doesn't go silent and unmanaged later. Here is the exact 2026 process, what that person can and can't do, and how Facebook's approach compares to Apple and Google.
What is a Facebook legacy contact?#
A legacy contact is a Facebook friend you choose in advance to look after your profile if it becomes memorialized. A memorialized profile is preserved with the word "Remembering" shown next to the name, blocks future logins, and is kept out of public spaces like birthday reminders and People You May Know.
The legacy contact steps in only after memorialization. Their role is narrow and specific: they manage limited parts of the profile but do not get full login access. Think of it as a caretaker role, not a key to the account.
How do I set up a legacy contact on Facebook in 2026?#
The path is the same idea on desktop and mobile — you're heading to the Memorialization settings inside Accounts Center. On the Facebook mobile app, the steps are:
- Tap the menu.
- Tap Settings & privacy, then tap Settings.
- Under Accounts Center, tap See more in Accounts Center.
- Select Personal details.
- Tap Account ownership and control.
- Select Memorialization.
- Choose your account, then add a trusted Facebook friend as your legacy contact.
On desktop, follow the same route: Settings & Privacy → Settings → Accounts Center → Personal details → Account ownership and control → Memorialization. Remember the 18-or-older requirement to select a legacy contact — and the person you name should also be someone you'd trust with the tasks below.
What can a legacy contact do on a memorialized profile?#
Once a profile is memorialized, the legacy contact can handle a short list of visible, low-risk tasks. Here's exactly what's in and out of scope, per Facebook's Help Center:
| A legacy contact can | A legacy contact cannot |
|---|---|
| Write and pin a post at the top of the profile (a final message or funeral information) | Log in as the person who passed away |
| Respond to new friend requests (for example, from family not yet on Facebook) | Read the person's private messages |
| Update the profile picture and cover photo | Remove friends or make new friend requests |
| Request removal (deletion) of the memorialized account | Edit or remove past posts, or make new posts as the person |
| Decide who can see and post tributes, and delete tribute posts | — |
| Change who can see posts the person was tagged in | — |
| Download a copy of what was shared — only if the option was enabled in advance | — |
Two items are worth flagging. The download of shared content only works if you enabled that option beforehand, so it's a checkbox to turn on while you're already sitting in the menu. And the inability to read private messages is deliberate — memorialization protects the conversations that were never public in the first place.
Should I choose memorialization or permanent deletion?#
Facebook makes you pick a default in advance, and you set that preference in the same Memorialization menu. The two options do very different things.
| Memorialization | Permanent deletion | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens to the profile | Preserved with "Remembering," logins blocked, hidden from public spaces | All posts, photos, comments, reactions, and messages removed |
| Legacy contact | Can be named to look after it | Not applicable |
| Best when | You want the profile to remain as a place for tributes | You want everything cleared once Facebook learns you've passed away |
If you choose permanent deletion, Facebook removes everything once it learns you've passed away. If you choose memorialization instead, the profile stays and your legacy contact can maintain it. Choose deletion if you'd rather leave no public trace; choose memorialization if you want a page where people can gather and post.
How do I add, change, or remove my legacy contact later?#
This isn't a one-time, locked-in decision. Return to the same Memorialization screen inside Account ownership and control to add a legacy contact, swap in a different friend, or remove the one you named. Revisit it after a divorce, a move, or a falling-out — the friend you picked at 30 may not be the person you'd hand this to at 50.
What if I need to manage someone else's account?#
If a friend or family member's profile needs attention and they've gone silent, you don't need to have been their legacy contact to start the process. Family or friends can request memorialization, or with proof, request account removal through Facebook's Help Center forms.
How does Facebook compare to Apple and Google?#
Facebook's legacy contact is one piece of a larger question — what happens to all your online accounts when you're unreachable. The three biggest platforms each solve it differently, and the differences matter if you're mapping out a full handoff.
| Facebook legacy contact | Apple Digital Legacy | Google Inactive Account Manager | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the chosen person gets | Manages a memorialized profile; no login, no private messages | Access to Apple Account data — photos, messages, notes, files, device backups | Shares parts of account data, or just notifies chosen people |
| How many people | One | More than one allowed | Up to 10 people |
| What triggers it | Memorialization after you pass away | Access key plus a death certificate | Inactivity across sign-ins, My Activity, Gmail, and Android check-ins for a period you set |
| Age requirement to be named | Not specified for the contact (you must be 18+ to choose one) | Over 13, varies by region | Not specified here |
| Notable limits | No login; download only if pre-enabled | No access to purchased movies, music, books, subscriptions, or iCloud Keychain passwords/passkeys | Account may be deleted after two years of inactivity across Google |
The pattern: Facebook is the most limited by design (a public profile, publicly maintained), Apple is the most data-rich but the most gated (it needs a death certificate), and Google is the most flexible on timing and headcount but keys everything to inactivity signals rather than a named event like death.
That gap is where a plain-language plan earns its keep. Each platform holds only its own slice, and none of them tells your people where to start or which choices you already made. Proceedly is a business-continuity check-in built for exactly that: miss it past a grace window and a person you name confirms before your encrypted handoff plan reaches the people who depend on you — it holds your instructions and where keys live, never the passwords themselves.
FAQ#
Do I have to be 18 to set up a legacy contact? Yes. Only Facebook users who are 18 or older can select a legacy contact.
Can my legacy contact read my private messages? No. A legacy contact cannot log in as you and cannot read your private messages.
Can my legacy contact delete my old posts or post as me? No. They cannot edit or remove past posts, make new posts as you, remove friends, or send friend requests.
Can my legacy contact download everything I shared? Only if you turned that on first. The download of your shared content is available to them only if you enabled the option in advance.
What's the difference between memorialization and deletion? Memorialization preserves your profile with "Remembering" and blocks logins, while permanent deletion removes all your posts, photos, comments, reactions, and messages.
How many legacy contacts can I have on Facebook? Facebook lets you name one legacy contact. For comparison, Apple allows more than one and Google's Inactive Account Manager allows up to 10 people.