DigiD and online accounts after death in the Netherlands
After a death in the Netherlands, DigiD and online banking shut down on their own once the death is registered with the gemeente — but email, social media, cloud storage and subscriptions keep running until someone who knows the password closes them. Part of a digital life closes by itself; part waits. They wait for a person who knows the password — or knows the right form to fill in. This article explains what stops automatically, what stays open, and what to leave behind so the people you trust are not locked out at the worst possible moment.
What closes on its own
When a death occurs in the Netherlands, the uitvaartondernemer (funeral director) usually files the aangifte van overlijden with the gemeente. The gemeente records the death in the BRP (Basisregistratie Personen), the national population register. Many government services read from the BRP and update their records automatically.
For DigiD, this means the account is deactivated once the BRP entry is processed. Logius, the operator of DigiD, treats DigiD as a personal identification means tied to a living person — it cannot be inherited or transferred. [The exact technical timing of DigiD deactivation after a BRP update is not published in detail by Logius — unverified.] The same flow updates MijnOverheid records and informs other connected services such as the Belastingdienst, SVB, and UWV.
For Dutch banks, the BRP signal usually triggers a hold on the deceased's accounts. The bank then asks for an akte van overlijden (death certificate) and, depending on the size of the estate, a verklaring van erfrecht (declaration of inheritance) before any access is given to nabestaanden (next of kin).
The pattern: anything tied to your BSN and the BRP closes more or less by itself. Anything tied to an email address and a password does not.
What stays open
Email accounts, social media profiles, cloud storage, photo libraries, password managers, streaming services, and most subscriptions live outside the BRP. The provider has no way of knowing the holder has died unless someone tells them. Until then:
- Auto-renewing subscriptions keep charging the bank account or card, until the bank blocks payments.
- Cloud-stored photos and documents stay where they are, but the people who would want them cannot reach them.
- Social media profiles stay live, sometimes prompting birthday reminders to friends years later.
- Two-factor authentication codes keep going to a phone that no one can unlock.
Each platform has its own process for handling a deceased user's account. The differences matter, because the difference between "memorialised tomorrow" and "lost forever" is usually a single document and a single trusted person who knows where to find it.
The big platforms: what they actually offer
Apple — Legacy Contact. You can name one or more Legacy Contacts in your Apple Account settings (iOS 15.2 or later). Apple gives you an access key to share with each contact. After your death, the contact uses the key plus a death certificate to request access to your photos, messages, notes, files, and device backups. They cannot access purchased music, books, films, or items in your iCloud Keychain such as passwords and payment methods.
Google — Inactive Account Manager. Google lets you set a waiting period of inactivity (you choose how long), after which up to ten trusted contacts can be notified and given access to selected data from your account. You can also instruct Google to delete the account once that period passes. Each trusted contact's phone number is required, so Google can verify identity before sharing data. Without a plan, Google reserves the right to delete inactive accounts after at least two years of inactivity.
Facebook and Instagram (Meta) — memorialisation or deletion. A Facebook profile can be memorialised after death, which freezes new logins and adds "Remembering" to the profile name. You can name a Legacy Contact in advance, who can then manage the memorialised profile within limits. Family members can also request memorialisation or deletion by submitting a death certificate to Meta. [Specific limits of what a Facebook Legacy Contact can and cannot do — unverified, see Facebook Help Centre.]
Microsoft, X, LinkedIn, TikTok. Each has its own form. None offers an Apple- or Google-style legacy contact. Access generally requires a death certificate and proof of relationship.
Password manager: the one decision that changes everything
If only one digital decision is made, it should be this: set up emergency access in a password manager. Tools such as 1Password, Bitwarden, Dashlane, and Apple Passwords / iCloud Keychain offer a way for a named person to request access after a waiting period (typically 24 hours to several days). Once granted, they see every saved login in one place — email, banking, subscriptions, social media, photo storage, government portals.
This is what turns hours of detective work into a single login. Without it, nabestaanden often spend weeks chasing accounts they did not know existed, while subscriptions keep running and important records stay out of reach.
What to leave for nabestaanden
A short, written document, kept in a place the right person knows about, with these items:
- The full name, date of birth, and BSN of the account holder (needed for almost every form).
- The primary email address and the recovery email and phone.
- Where the password manager lives and who has emergency access.
- A note that an Apple Legacy Contact / Google Inactive Account Manager / Facebook Legacy Contact has been set up, if applicable.
- A short list of what is important — the photos, the documents, the email — and what is not.
- Where the akte van overlijden will be filed (most providers ask for it).
It does not need to be long. It needs to exist.
In the app
In the Personal Portal you keep an inventory of digital accounts, the legacy contacts you have named with each provider, and where the password manager's emergency access is set up. The app reminds you to update the list when you change a primary email, switch phones, or replace a password manager.
Closed beta — access by invitation.
Sources
- Logius / DigiD — DigiD as a personal identification means and account information. https://www.digid.nl/en
- Apple Support — Add a Legacy Contact for your Apple Account. Scope of access (photos, messages, notes, files, backups), death certificate requirement, exclusions (Keychain, purchased media). https://support.apple.com/en-us/102631
- Google Help — About Inactive Account Manager. Inactivity period, up to ten trusted contacts, phone-number verification, two-year deletion default. https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546
- Facebook Help Centre — Memorialised accounts and Legacy Contact (background reference). https://www.facebook.com/help/1506822589577997
- Rijksoverheid — Aangifte van overlijden and BRP registration (background on how death is recorded with the gemeente). https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/overlijden-aangeven