Legacy contact

A legacy contact is a Facebook setting where you designate a person to manage your account after your death. Set it in Settings → General → Memorialization Settings.

What a legacy contact can do

• Write a pinned post on your memorialized profile.
• Respond to new friend requests.
• Update your profile photo and cover photo.
• Download a copy of your shared content (posts, photos, profile info).

What they cannot do

• Log in as you.
• Read your private messages.
• See deleted content.
• Modify past posts.

Why it matters

Without a legacy contact, your account either becomes memorialized (frozen as a tribute) or sits inaccessible. Family-member disputes over access without a designated legacy contact are slow to resolve — typically requiring death certificates, probate records, and proof of family relationship.

See Facebook memorialized account help for related recovery scenarios.