Closing accounts

Closing an email account (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo)

Email is often the last account to close, for good reason.

Email accounts often hold the most useful information after a death: bills, statements, receipts and messages from companies. Many families keep an account open until other accounts are settled, if they can get into it.

If the family has the password

Signing in with the person's password may be possible, but the major providers' terms of service usually prohibit using someone else's account, and two-factor codes may still go to the person's phone. Some families keep the account open just long enough to download what they need.

How the major providers usually handle it

• Gmail (Google): Google has a request form for a deceased user's account. Family members can ask to close the account, and in some cases request some of its data. If the person set up Inactive Account Manager, their chosen contacts may already have access.
• Outlook (Microsoft): Microsoft accounts usually close automatically after a period of inactivity. Microsoft generally doesn't give family access to an account's contents without a subpoena or court order.
• Yahoo: Yahoo has a process to close a deceased user's account. Under its terms, it generally doesn't give access to the account's contents.

Searching "[provider] deceased user" usually finds the current form.

What providers usually ask for

• A death certificate
• The requester's ID
• Sometimes proof of the requester's role, or a court order for access to content