TikTok has added a new legacy account setting that lets users choose what should happen to their account when they die.
The option, now available in the app's account settings, lets users either nominate another user to look after their account, or have their profile deleted, as shown in images posted on Threads by app researcher Radu Oncescu.
Other screenshots posted on Threads by Jonah Manzano show that within each option, users can also choose what a legacy contact will be able to control.
To deactivate an account, TikTok requires that the removal request come from a family member or other legal representative, which generally requires proof of connection and a death certificate.
The scale explains the feature.
As reported by The Guardian, a 2019 study conducted by Oxford University found Facebook may be hosting as many as 4.9 billion deceased member profiles by 2100, which could exceed its living members. Millions of social media users have already died, making this an important consideration in terms of both privacy and storage capacity.
For users, these settings provide some assurance that their information will be handled as they choose — a logical consideration in the social media era.
The update looks like a personal privacy story, but it has operational implications.
Creator accounts are business assets. When followers, collaboration history, and payout details are bound to an individual's account, that account is plainly an asset. Yet on most platforms, ownership succession is either undefined or handled after the fact. TikTok making the choice a user setting moves the problem upstream, before it becomes an estate dispute.
Brand channel access carries the same structural risk. Plenty of brand channels are still managed through an individual's personal account. If that person leaves or becomes unreachable, access closes. Death is the extreme case, but the underlying flaw — access concentrated in one person's personal account — is identical. Distributing channel permissions at the organization level is the baseline fix.
Posthumous content use is a separate consent question. Recreating a deceased person's likeness and voice with AI is already a live platform policy issue; see YouTube Reworks Its AI Likeness Claims. A legacy account setting decides who administers an account. It does not decide how a face or voice may be used. The two problems sit next to each other without being the same one.
For TikTok's broader investment in its creator ecosystem, see TikTok Launches a Creator Newsletter.
It is a worthwhile update for users considering their online legacies. For creators and brands that treat accounts as assets, it is also a good prompt to audit who actually holds the keys to your channels.
Users can nominate another user to look after the account after they die, or have the profile deleted, and can specify what a legacy contact is allowed to control.
TikTok requires the removal request to come from a family member or other legal representative, generally requiring proof of connection and a death certificate.
A 2019 Oxford University study reported by The Guardian projected Facebook could host as many as 4.9 billion deceased member profiles by 2100, potentially exceeding living members.
Whether channel access is concentrated in one individual's personal account. Distribute permissions at the organization level — and note that legacy settings do not govern posthumous use of likeness or voice.
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