How to Close a YouTube Account When Someone Dies

YouTube is a video sharing website and online video platform. It allows users to upload, share, and view videos and subscribe to other users' content. Google owns the website, one of the world's most popular video sharing websites. Users can watch a wide range of YouTube content, including music, movie trailers, educational videos, and more. YouTube also has a feature that allows users to create and upload their own videos, which other users can view.

If you are responsible for managing the social media accounts of a loved one who has passed away, you may be wondering how to close their YouTube account. This can be a difficult and emotional process but it is important to take care of these matters promptly. This guide will walk you through the steps for closing a YouTube account when someone dies. Please note that Google's policies and procedures may change over time: it is always a good idea to double-check their website for the most up-to-date information.

How do I close a YouTube account of someone who has passed away?

First, you'll need to go to Google's support page. This is because it is Google who own YouTube as therefore, all requests are handled through their support page. 

For ease, you can navigate to this page to "Submit a request regarding a deceased user's account". Once on this page, choose the "Close the account of a deceased user" radio button. 

You will then need to provide the following information:

• Full name of the person who has died
• Email address of the person who has died
• The full name of the relative or legal representative making the request
• The e-mail address of the relative or legal representative making the request
• Choosing the type of relationship the person making the request has to the individual. Either "Immediate family (spouse, sibling, child, parent)" or "Legal representative or executor". 
• The country the person who has died resided in
• The post code of the person who has died
• The date of death of the person who has died
• A scan of government-issued identification. This if often either a passport or driving licence.
• A scan of the death certificate of the individual who has died

There are other optional fields that can be filled out too, which can help facilitate the close of an account. 

• Other additional documentation that can help Google to better understand the case
• A comments field to provide more information to assist Google with the closure

Closing a "Google Account" will delete all associated accounts owned by Google

On the request form, there is a question that asks you what the request is referring to: "My request is about the following product(s)". Choosing "Google Account" will delete all associated accounts including YouTube and Google.

How do I obtain data from a YouTube account of someone who has passed away?

You are also able to request to "Obtain data from a deceased user's account" via the "Submit a request regarding a deceased user's account".

This is one of the radio buttons you will be asked for at the start. 

This follows a very similar process as outlined above for requesting the closing of an account. When asked for which product your request is in reference to, you have several choices. For YouTube, select "YouTube", but you can make multiple requests for other services too, including:

• Blogger
• Drive
• Gmail
• Google+
• Google Photos