A step-by-step guide to finding all online accounts belonging to someone who has died.
When someone passes away, they often leave behind dozens — sometimes hundreds — of online accounts. This tool guides you through a systematic process to discover and document those accounts so you can close, memorialize, or transfer them appropriately.
Work through each step below. As you discover accounts, add them to the Account Tracker (Step 7). Everything is saved automatically in your browser.
How to use these queries: Copy each query below and paste it into the search bar of the deceased person's email account. Work through all queries and note any services you haven't seen before. Add them to the Account Tracker.
The time-range operators help surface very old accounts that predate the last few years of activity.
💡 Pro tip: In Gmail, click "More" under search filters, then set the date range to "Before: [date]" to browse by time period. You can also search from:(noreply OR no-reply OR donotreply) to catch automated sign-up emails.
💡 Outlook tip: Use the Filter dropdown → Sort by date → select "Oldest" to surface very old registration emails. You can also use received:<2020-01-01 in the search bar for date filtering.
💡 Yahoo Mail's search is less powerful — try sorting by sender (From) to group automated emails together. Look for senders like noreply@, no-reply@, or accounts@.
💡 In Apple Mail, use Edit → Find → Find... or the search bar. Narrow by "Subject" in the search scope dropdown. Sort results by date ascending to find the oldest accounts.
What to do: Go to Have I Been Pwned, enter the deceased person's email address(es), and note every service listed in the results. Each breach entry is an account that exists (or existed) for that email.
⚠️ Note: HIBP only shows services that have been publicly breached. Many accounts will not appear here — it's one tool among many, not the complete picture.
💡 Free lookup: Checking a single email address on HIBP is completely free and does not require registration. The paid "Notify Me" service is not needed for this purpose.
⚠️ You'll need physical or remote access to the deceased's device to use this step. If the device is locked, you may need to contact the manufacturer or work with a data recovery professional.
💡 If the person was signed into Google Chrome with their Google account, these passwords may also be accessible via passwords.google.com — if you can log into their Google account.
💡 Safari passwords sync via iCloud Keychain. If the person used iCloud, the same passwords appear on all their Apple devices. You can also access them via another Apple device signed into the same Apple ID.
💡 If the person used a Firefox Account (Mozilla account), their passwords sync across devices. You may be able to access them if you know their Firefox account credentials.
💡 Edge passwords sync with Microsoft account. If signed in, they may also be accessible at account.microsoft.com under security settings.
⚠️ Most password manager companies require legal documentation (death certificate + proof of executorship) before granting estate access. Contact their support teams directly.
What to look for: Every app listed here used the deceased's account to sign in. Some may be important services — financial apps, health apps, work tools — that would otherwise be invisible.
💡 "Sign in with Apple" often creates a private relay email (e.g. abc123@privaterelay.appleid.com). The app name listed is what matters — not the email shown.
What to look for: Go through the last 12 months of bank and credit card statements. Flag any recurring small payments (often $5–$30/month) — these are almost always subscriptions. One-time payments may also reveal services the person registered for.
💡 Unknown merchant names: Banks often use abbreviated or parent company names. If you see an unfamiliar charge, search the merchant name along with the amount and frequency — e.g. "NFLX" = Netflix, "AMZN PRIME" = Amazon Prime.
No accounts added yet.
Use the form above to add accounts as you discover them in the previous steps.