Digital Executor
A digital executor is the person you trust to handle your online life after you pass away. They close accounts, retrieve photos and files, memorialise social media, and pass on what matters to the right people. The role is not formally recognised under English law, but you can still name one in your will and give them the practical handover they need to act.
Last reviewed:
The short answer
A digital executor is the person you ask to take care of your digital estate after you die. That includes social media accounts, email, cloud storage, photos, subscriptions, online banking access, and any cryptocurrency or domain names you own. In the UK, the role is not formally recognised in legislation, but you can name a digital executor in your will and leave them a separate, secure handover with the access keys, instructions, and any letters of wishes they need to do the job. Y.O.D.O. holds that handover in sealed form and releases it only after a verified passing.
Typical tasks include memorialising or closing Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X profiles; requesting access to Apple, Google, and Microsoft accounts; cancelling paid subscriptions such as streaming, storage, and software; retrieving photos and documents from iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox; transferring or releasing domain names; and helping the executor of your will trace any cryptocurrency holdings.
Not formally. English and Welsh law does not yet define digital executor as a distinct role. The legal authority to deal with an estate sits with the executor named in your will, or with the administrator if you die intestate. You can still nominate a digital executor by name in your will, give them a separate written authority to handle digital assets, and explain in a letter of wishes how you want the digital side to be handled.
Pick someone who is comfortable with technology, comfortable making practical decisions, and able to coordinate with the legal executor and your family. The role can be the same person as your legal executor, or a separate, more tech-savvy friend or relative. Make sure they know they have been chosen, and what you expect them to do.
Give them three things: a list of the accounts that matter and what to do with each one; access keys or instructions for any platform legacy tools you have set up (Apple Legacy Contact, Google Inactive Account Manager, Facebook Legacy Contact); and a clear letter of wishes for the personal handover, including any messages you want passed on. Never paste live passwords into your will, which becomes a public document after probate.
Y.O.D.O. holds your sealed handover, organised the way you want it, and releases it only after a Delegate has reported your passing, identity verification has completed, and a 72-hour dispute window has closed. Your digital executor (or any other named Recipient) opens what was addressed to them. Y.O.D.O. is not a will, not a password manager, and not a probate service; it sits alongside your legal executor and gives them the structured information they need.
Operated by Y.O.D.O. Ltd, registered in England and Wales (15736034). ICO registered (ZC015883). Data hosted in the EEA. Live in the UK and EEA.
No card required. Cancel any time. Live in the UK and EEA.