Instagram Is Developing a Feature to Memorialize Deceased Users

Instagram is working on a new memorialization feature, adding a “Remembering” banner under a username to signal that a person has passed.

According to Instagram, family members can ask that a deceased’s Instagram account be memorialized through a form on the Instagram site. This will preserve the account so it doesn’t get deleted or altered and will prevent people from logging into it, even with the password.

Here’s how memorializing of an account works:

We’ll memorialize the Instagram account of a deceased person when we receive a valid request. We try to prevent references to memorialized accounts from appearing on Instagram in ways that may be upsetting to the person’s friends and family, and we also take measures to protect the privacy of the deceased person by securing the account.

To report an account to be memorialized, please contact us. We require proof of death, such as a link to an obituary or news article, to memorialize an account.

Please keep in mind that we can’t provide login information for a memorialized account. It’s always against our policies for someone to log into another person’s account.

Ways such accounts can be removed:

Verified immediate family members may request the removal of a loved one’s account from Instagram. When you submit a request for removal, we require proof that you’re an immediate family member of the deceased person, such as:

The deceased person’s birth certificate.

The deceased person’s death certificate.

Proof of authority under local law that you are the lawful representative of the deceased person, or his/her estate.

Here’s how it looks:

Instagram continues working on account memorialization

adds this sheet of “Remembering ”

The link in this sheet brings us to Instagram’s Help Center page on this topic: https://t.co/0Ztal3Vxh5 pic.twitter.com/3xHvmGH9MW

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) April 21, 2020

Yes, we’re making changes to help people identify if an Instagram account belongs to someone who has passed away. We’ll have more to share on this at a later time.

— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) April 22, 2020

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