You probably have a plan for your physical belongings: a will, maybe some notes for the family. But what about your digital life? Your photos on Google Drive. Your social media accounts. Your email archive. Your Spotify playlists, your cryptocurrency, your online banking. What happens to all of it when you're no longer around?
For most people, the answer is: nothing good. Accounts get locked. Photos become inaccessible. Crypto wallets become permanently sealed, but not in the way you'd want. Digital legacy planning is the process of making sure that doesn't happen.
Your digital legacy is everything you leave behind online: every account, every photo, every message, every file. It includes:
The average person has over 100 online accounts. Most of them have no succession plan.
Without digital legacy planning, your family faces a painful maze:
Most platforms don't give family members access to a deceased person's account without extensive documentation. Some platforms (like Apple) are notorious for making this process nearly impossible. Your family photos stored in iCloud? Without your password and two-factor authentication, they may be lost forever.
An estimated $140 billion in Bitcoin alone is permanently inaccessible because the holders lost their keys or died without sharing them. Unlike a bank account, there is no "next of kin" process for crypto. If the seed phrase dies with you, the funds are gone forever. A dead man's switch is one of the safest ways to pass on crypto keys.
Subscriptions keep charging. Netflix, Spotify, gym memberships, SaaS tools, domain registrations. Your family may not even know these exist, let alone how to cancel them.
Beyond the practical issues, the emotional loss is enormous. Family photos with personal dedications and memories, voice messages where someone says your name one last time, video calls, chat histories. All of these are part of someone's irreplaceable memory. Without a plan, they vanish.
Here's a practical, step-by-step plan for protecting your digital life:
Make a list of every account and digital asset you have. Include:
For each account, decide: should it be deleted, memorialized, or transferred to someone?
Some platforms offer built-in legacy tools:
However, these tools are limited. They don't cover all accounts, they can't deliver personal messages, and they don't handle crypto or financial assets.
For everything these tools don't cover, such as personal messages, passwords, instructions, and video messages, a digital time capsule fills the gap. With SealedFor, you can:
The best plan is useless if nobody knows it exists. You don't need to share details. Just let at least one trusted person know that you've prepared a digital legacy plan and where to find the instructions (or that they'll receive them automatically via a dead man's switch).
Each platform handles death differently:
| Platform | What Happens | Legacy Options |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook / Instagram | Can be memorialized or deleted | Legacy Contact can manage memorialized page |
| X / Twitter | Account can be deactivated by family | Requires death certificate and proof of relationship |
| Google (Gmail, YouTube, Drive) | Inactive Account Manager activates | Auto-share data or auto-delete after inactivity |
| Apple (iCloud, Photos) | Legacy Contact can request access | Requires prior setup of Legacy Contact |
| Can be memorialized or removed | Requires verified request from family | |
| TikTok | No formal legacy process | Family must contact support |
Notice the pattern: every platform requires documentation, proof, and often weeks of waiting. None of them deliver your words to your people. That's where a personal digital legacy solution comes in.
Digital legacy planning isn't just about accounts and passwords. The most valuable parts of your digital legacy are often the most personal:
You probably have thousands of photos with personal memories and dedications scattered across your phone, cloud storage, and social media. These aren't just images; they carry the context of who was there, why you smiled, and what those moments meant. Consolidate the most important ones and ensure they're backed up somewhere your family can access.
Nothing replaces hearing someone's voice say your name, or seeing their face light up while talking to you. That moment is irreplaceable. Consider recording short video messages for the people who matter most. A digital time capsule is perfect for this. You can record a message today and have it delivered years from now.
Letters, journals, life advice: these become priceless after someone is gone. If you've ever thought about writing a letter to your children, your partner, or a friend, don't wait. Write it, seal it, and let the technology handle the timing.
