Deceased Person's Facebook or Instagram Account in Pakistan: How to Memorialise or Remove It, and the Documents Meta Accepts
Memorialise or remove a deceased person's Facebook or Instagram account in Pakistan. The documents Meta accepts, the free forms, and what happens to Pages.
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When someone dies, Facebook and Instagram give the family two choices: memorialise the account, which locks it and adds "Remembering" to the name, or remove it completely. Removal needs proof that you are immediate family, and a death certificate is the fastest proof on Facebook. Nobody, not even family, can get the password.
We read Meta's help pages on deceased users' accounts for both apps on 7 November 2026. The questions we hear most from Pakistani families are practical. Can we close Abbu's Facebook? Can we see his messages? What happens to the shop page he ran alone? Meta answers each of them, and one answer surprises people: a Facebook Page with a sole admin is deleted once the admin's profile is memorialised.
Memorialise or remove: the two choices on Facebook and Instagram
Memorialising keeps the profile online as a place to share memories, with no one able to log in. Removing deletes the account and its content. Anyone with proof of death can ask Instagram to memorialise a profile, but only verified immediate family can ask for removal.
| Question | Memorialise | Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Who can ask on Instagram? | Anyone, with proof of death | Immediate family only |
| Who can ask on Facebook? | Family or friends, with proof | Immediate family or executor |
| Does the profile stay online? | Yes, marked Remembering | No, it is deleted |
| Can anyone log in? | No | No |
| Posts and photos | Stay visible to the same audience | Removed |
Many families choose memorialisation first. Relatives abroad often keep visiting the profile. And on Facebook, a legacy contact can still delete a memorialised account at any time.
Documents Meta accepts, and their Pakistani equivalents
Facebook says the quickest route to removal is a scan or photo of the death certificate. Without it, you need one proof of authority and one proof of death. Instagram's memorialisation request needs proof of death such as an obituary or news report link.
In Pakistan, the death certificate comes from the union council or the provincial service centre, and NADRA records it. Our steps to apply for a death certificate cover the process. In Punjab, the death certificate from e-Khidmat route is often fastest.
| What Meta asks for | Closest Pakistani document |
|---|---|
| Death certificate | Union council or NADRA death certificate |
| Proof of authority: estate letter | Succession certificate or letter of administration |
| Proof of authority: last will | A registered will, if one exists |
| Proof of authority: power of attorney | A power of attorney from the legal heirs |
| Proof of death: obituary or memorial card | A newspaper death notice or funeral notice |
| Instagram removal | Death certificate, birth certificate or proof you are the legal representative |
The names on your documents must match the name on the account. Facebook asks you to cover personal details it does not need, so black out the CNIC numbers that are not required before you upload.
How to send the request, step by step
Each app has its own online form. You fill it in, upload the documents and wait for Meta to reply. Meta's help pages list no fee for this, so ignore any agent who asks for money to do it.
- Get the death certificate first. It is the document Meta processes fastest.
- Note the exact profile link. Open the profile and copy the link from the address bar or the share option.
- For Facebook, open Facebook's request form for a deceased person's account, choose memorialise or remove, and upload the document.
- For Instagram, use Instagram's memorialisation request to lock the profile, or its removal form if you are immediate family.
- Keep the reply emails. Meta may ask for another document if the names do not match.
If the person had a WhatsApp account, that is separate. The number can only be handled once the SIM is dealt with, and a deceased person's SIM transfer keeps the number in the family.
What happens to messages, pages and groups
No one can log in to a memorialised account or read its private messages. On Facebook, a Page whose only admin dies is removed after a valid memorialisation request, and a Group with a sole admin is paused. Add a second admin to a business page while that is still possible.
That rule hits small businesses hard. A boutique, tuition centre or catering service run from one person's Facebook Page can vanish overnight once the family memorialises the profile. If a relative runs such a page, ask now that a trusted person be made a second admin.
- Private messages: cannot be read by family or a legacy contact.
- Posts and photos: stay visible on a memorialised profile to the audience they were shared with.
- Reminders: memorialised profiles do not appear in birthday reminders, ads or People you may know.
- Changes: a memorialised Facebook profile with no legacy contact cannot be changed.
Plan your own account with a legacy contact
On Facebook you can choose a legacy contact now, a friend who manages your profile if it is memorialised, or choose to have your account deleted after death. A legacy contact can write a pinned post, accept friend requests, change the profile photo and request deletion, but cannot read your messages.
Setting one takes two minutes in Accounts Centre or Meta Account settings. Pick someone you trust and tell your family which option you chose. Apple has a similar setting, and the steps to add a legacy contact on an iPhone are just as short.
If you would rather close your own account while alive, deleting a Facebook account is a different process from this one.
Common questions
Can I get my late father's Facebook password?
No. Meta says it cannot give login details for a memorialised account, and logging in to another person's account is against its rules.
How do I delete a dead person's Facebook account in Pakistan?
Send Facebook's request form for a deceased person's account with a death certificate. If you have none, send one proof of authority and one proof of death.
Who can request removal of an Instagram account after death?
Only verified immediate family members. Instagram asks for a birth certificate, death certificate or proof you are the legal representative.
Is there a fee to memorialise an account?
Meta's help pages list no fee. The forms are free to use online.
What happens to a Facebook Page if its only admin dies?
Meta removes the Page once it gets a valid memorialisation request for the admin's profile. Groups with a sole admin are paused.
Can I read messages on a memorialised account?
No. Neither family nor a legacy contact can read the person's messages.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on 7 November 2026. Facebook's rules are from its pages on what happens to your profile if you pass away and removal of a deceased family member's account. Instagram's are from its page on reporting a deceased person's profile. The Pakistani document equivalents are our own mapping, not Meta's wording, so Meta may still ask for something else. We did not submit a request ourselves.
About the author
Technology Journalist & Multimedia Producer
Ahmad Ali is a technology journalist and multimedia producer at Pakistan Era, joining the team in October 2026. He covers consumer technology and digital life for Pakistani readers, combining research with hands-on product testing.
