💬 Social Media

What Happens to Your Mastodon Account When You Die

Medium PriorityDecentralized

Quick Facts

Difficulty

Medium

Key Info

Hosted on individual servers (instances)

Subscription

None (may donate to instance)

Step-by-Step Guide

1

Download account archive

Log in to the Mastodon instance and go to Preferences → Import and export → Data export to download posts, follows, and media.

Estimated time: 10-20 min

2

Decide: keep or delete

Decide whether to leave the profile as-is (it will remain on the instance) or request deletion. There is no formal memorialization feature.

Estimated time: 5 min

3

Contact instance administrator

Reach out to the server\'s admin to request account deletion or modification. Each instance has its own admin and policies.

Document Now Checklist

  • Mastodon full handle (e.g., @user@instance.social)
  • Instance URL
  • Account email
  • Instance admin contact

Save this to your vault

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Last verified: June 2026. Platform policies may change. Verify current procedures directly with Mastodon. This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

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