My spouse and I share responsibilities when it comes to paying the mortgage and utility bills each month. In the horrible event of one’s demise, the other will need to be able to log into our accounts to keep our household up and running. It’s not just our shared accounts that need consideration; we also face the potentially long and frustrating process of shutting down individual bank accounts, social media accounts, video streaming service subscriptions, and many other online accounts after one of us dies or is otherwise incapacitated. Luckily, there are password managers with digital inheritance options so we’ll be able to access all of our accounts when the other cannot.
Giving a trusted person access to your password manager vault could be the most useful legacy you leave behind. To help you create a digital inheritance that’s easy for your loved ones to use, I created a list of password managers that offer highly customizable or easy-to-use legacy options.
Password Apps With the Best Digital Legacy Options
Note that these aren’t the only password managers with digital legacy settings. Still, the apps described below have features that make it particularly easy to decide how and when to give credential access to a trusted person.
Keeper
(Credit: Keeper/PCMag)
To access Keeper’s password inheritance settings, go to your account page and tap the button labeled Emergency Access. Decide who you want to access your vault, and then enter the email addresses of up to five people. Keep in mind that your heirs will need to create their own Keeper account to access your passwords. One interesting setting is the delay feature. If you are facing a long illness or have another reason to be concerned about your imminent demise, vault access automatically transfers to a trusted person after a certain period of time. Keeper also lets you revoke access if one of your appointees tries to get into your vault while you’re still alive.
LogMeOnce
(Credit: LogMeOnce/PCMag)
This app has the most customizable digital legacy system of any password management app we’ve reviewed. Within the LogMeOnce app, you can designate emergency contacts and add a custom message to each person with detailed instructions for using your credentials. It’s a small addition but it makes a big difference when it comes to taking the confusion out of managing someone else’s passwords. Like Keeper, with LogMeOnce, you can choose how long to wait to send the emergency access invitation to your heirs if you don’t want them to get access right away for some reason. You can also choose how long the invitation is effective.
NordPass
(Credit: NordPass/PCMag)
The digital legacy setting for Editors’ Choice NordPass is pretty simple, yet effective. You can designate a trusted family member or friend as an “authorized user” from within the app’s Settings menu. Authorized users can request access to your NordPass vault without knowing the master password. Be careful with this setting, though. If someone you trust requests access to your vault and you fail to decline the request within seven days, the person gets automatic access to your vault.
How to Keep Your Online Accounts Secure After You Die
A little preparation can go a long way toward making your digital legacy more accessible for your loved ones. When it comes to securing bank accounts or financial legacies, check in with your bank before it’s too late. Banks have their own protocol for handling account terminations and handing over financial legacies. If you want to make sure someone will be able to receive the money in one of your accounts after your death, be sure to name them as a beneficiary on the account or have them listed as a joint account holder. Giving someone your bank account password won’t help them access your finances in a legal way.
Recommended by Our Editors
If you want to make shutting down your social accounts a little easier for your loved ones, do it for them! Take time today to download your data from a Facebook, Instagram, or X (Twitter) profile you don’t use regularly. If you’ve been on these platforms for a long time, it could take up to 72 hours for these services to send you a link to download the file. After you have the file with all of your photos, posts, or videos from the social platform, delete the account. Not ready to let go of the account yet? Try setting the social profile to private mode, and then deleting or hiding any public posts.
I know this isn’t a fun topic, but it’s wise to keep this stuff in mind while you’re still here. To help you make quick work of your digital legacy plan, check out our guide to preparing your online life for death.
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About Kim Key
Senior Security Analyst
