TikTok after a death: videos, followers and the account

What families usually need

TikTok accounts hold two different things. One is the person: their videos, their comments, the people who followed them. The other is the login: the phone number, email address and password that open the account. Families often need to deal with both, and the order matters.

Before you contact TikTok, gather what proves who you are and how you are connected to the person. That usually means a death certificate and something showing your relationship or your role in handling the estate. The guide on death certificates and how many you need helps you plan copies. You may also need the account's username or a link to the profile.

Check TikTok's current help page for the exact steps. Rules, forms and time limits change, and the help page is the only place that has the version in force today.

The choices in front of you

Most families end up choosing one of three things. You can ask for the account to be memorialized, so the videos stay visible and the account is marked as belonging to someone who has died. You can ask to download the person's videos and other content so the family keeps a copy. Or you can ask to have the account closed and the content removed.

Think about what the family actually wants before you start. Some people find comfort in leaving the videos up. Others want the account gone quietly. Neither is wrong, and it helps to agree on one answer before anyone fills in a form.

If you only want a copy of the videos, downloading may be enough and you can leave the account itself alone for now. If you want the profile to stay but stop changing, memorializing is usually the closer fit. Closing removes it.

Getting into the account

If you have the person's phone and it still opens, you may be able to reach the account through the app. That is often the simplest route to download videos or change settings. The guide on a locked phone after a death covers what to try first.

Do not reset the password in a hurry. A reset can lock out other people who were already signed in, and it can trigger security checks that are hard to pass later. If you are unsure, contact TikTok through its help page and follow their process instead.

What the account holder can set up now

You can make this much easier by writing down what you want and where the login lives. A short note is enough: what should happen to your TikTok account, and who should be the one to ask.

• Your TikTok username and the email address or phone number used to sign in
• Whether you want the account memorialized, downloaded or closed
• The name of the person you want to handle it
• Where your videos matter to you, if they do

Keep that note with your other account details in the Digital life section of your envelope. If you are still deciding how to organize all of it, the checklist walks through the sections people usually keep.

One practical point: your TikTok login is often tied to an email address or phone number. If your family cannot get into that email or phone, the TikTok account gets harder to reach. The guide on being locked out of their email covers that side of it.

Followers, messages and saved content

Followers and comments are part of the account, not separate things you can hand over. When an account is memorialized or closed, those usually stay or go with it. Messages in the app are the same.

If the person saved drafts or private videos, those may only be visible from inside the account. Downloading content while you still have access is often the surest way to keep a copy.

If the person is still alive but cannot manage the account

The same choices mostly apply when someone is seriously ill or has lost the ability to handle their own affairs. Families often want to download content or pause the account rather than close it. Talk with the person first if that is possible, and follow TikTok's current help page for what they ask of you.

If you are handling someone's affairs under a power of attorney, note that the paper usually ends at death. The guide on power of attorney ending at death explains why that matters for accounts like this.

Keeping a record

Write down what you asked TikTok for, when you asked, and what they told you. Keep the death certificate copies and any reference numbers together. If someone else in the family later asks about the account, you will have the answer ready.

Then check the account after a few days. Confirm the videos are still there or gone, as you intended, and that no one has posted since. A quick look saves a second round of messages.

For the wider set of accounts, the guides list covers email, phones, social media and subscriptions one at a time.