- No email provider will give the family a password. Getting the contents usually needs a court order, often from another country.
- Inactive mailboxes can be deleted after 12 months (Yahoo, Outlook.com, free Proton) or 2 years (Google).
- The owner can plan ahead with Google Inactive Account Manager, Apple Legacy Contact or Proton Emergency Access.
- Agree what you need from the inbox early, before any deletion clock runs out.
A person’s main email address tends to link many of their other accounts. Password resets, bills, renewal reminders and recovery messages all arrive there. Losing the inbox can make the rest of the estate harder to trace. Providers protect inboxes closely, so plan ahead if you can and act quickly if you can’t.
Set it up now
Only some providers let you choose who gets access after your death.
- Gmail: use Google Inactive Account Manager to choose up to 10 people who receive your data, including Mail, after a period of inactivity that you set.
- iCloud Mail: an Apple Legacy Contact can access Mail along with photos, files and backups.
- Proton Mail: Emergency Access lets you name up to five contacts, who must all have Proton addresses. You choose a waiting period of 1, 2, 3, 7, 14 or 30 days. If you don’t refuse a request in that time, the contact gets full access to your account. It’s only on paid Proton plans.
- Outlook.com and Yahoo: their official deceased-user pages describe no planning tool. Make sure your sign-in details are reachable through a password manager with emergency access.
Also list every email address you use in your digital asset inventory, including old ones that still receive account messages.
If someone has died
Gmail
Google’s deceased-user form offers three requests: close the account, request funds, or obtain data. For data you need your government ID or driving licence, the death certificate and any supporting documents, with certified English translations of anything not in English. If Google approves and Google LLC is the provider, you then need a court order issued in the United States. Ask for data before closure, because Google can’t release contents once the account is closed.
Outlook.com and Hotmail
Microsoft says it is generally unable to provide information to anyone but the account holder. It will only consider releasing data if formally served with a valid subpoena or court order. For customers in Europe, orders go to Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd in Dublin. See our Microsoft page.
Yahoo Mail
Yahoo has separate rules depending on where the account is based.
- UK and EU accounts: Yahoo will close the account, suspend billing and delete the contents on request. To close it, send a written request with the deceased’s Yahoo ID, the document appointing the executor or personal representative, the death certificate and your ID. Getting the contents needs an Irish court order addressed to Yahoo International Limited.
- US accounts: closing needs a death certificate issued in the US. Releasing contents also needs your government ID and a US court order using wording Yahoo provides. Yahoo’s US page says it applies to US accounts only, and requests for non-US accounts won’t get a response.
iCloud Mail
Without a Legacy Contact, Apple needs a court order for access in the US and some other countries. To delete the account it generally needs a death certificate and may also need a court order. The UK is not among the countries Apple lists as accepting other documents, so check with Apple first. Apple’s terms say an account may be terminated, and its content deleted, once Apple receives a copy of the death certificate.
Proton Mail
We found no official Proton page on deceased users, and Proton’s terms say nothing about death. If Emergency Access wasn’t set up, don’t count on Proton releasing anything.
A UK grant of probate on its own does not unlock Gmail or Yahoo contents. Both point to a court order from another country (the US for Gmail, Ireland for UK and EU Yahoo accounts). A solicitor can confirm whether that’s worth pursuing in your case.
How long inboxes last
| Provider | When an unused account can go |
|---|---|
| Yahoo Mail | Inactive after 12 months, then emails and contacts are permanently deleted |
| Outlook.com | Frozen after 1 year, with emails deleted shortly after |
| Proton (free) | Removed after 12 months without a sign-in. Paid plans aren’t deleted for inactivity |
| iCloud | Apple may terminate an account inactive for 1 year, with 30 days’ email notice |
| Gmail | Personal account may be deleted after 2 years |
Practical steps for executors
- Note every address the person used.
- Decide whether you need any contents. Old emails can help trace bank accounts, subscriptions and websites.
- Make any data request before asking for closure.
- Watch the deletion clocks above.
Keeping an account active usually means signing in, and providers don’t authorise that for anyone else. Using a dead person’s password can breach the provider’s terms and, in the UK, raise issues under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. Stick to the official routes, and check each provider’s current page, as these processes can change.