How to pass on your passwords when you die, safely

The safest way to pass on your passwords when you die is to leave one secure way in, not a list. Set up emergency access or a recovery kit for a password manager, keep a short sealed note saying where it is and who should use it, and make sure your executor knows the note exists. Never write passwords into your will.

That approach means almost nothing sensitive is written down in full, nothing goes stale every time you change a password, and the person you trust can open everything else from one place. This guide is part of our series on digital estate planning, and it walks through the options in order of how much we'd trust them.

Why is a password list a bad idea?

A spreadsheet or notebook of every login feels thorough. In practice it goes out of date within months, it's a single document that would be very valuable to a thief, and it usually misses the things that matter most: two-factor codes, recovery keys and the passcode to the phone those codes arrive on.

The better question isn't "how do I give someone all my passwords?" but "how does one trusted person get in, once, when it's really needed?" There are three good answers, and most people use two of them together.

Option 1: password manager emergency access

If you already use a password manager, it's the best place to start. Good ones are built so that nobody, including the company, can open your vault without your master password. That's what makes them safe, and it's also why a vault with no plan is effectively sealed for good. Our page on what happens to your password manager when you die covers this in more detail.

Bitwarden

Bitwarden's emergency access lets you name trusted emergency contacts. It's a premium feature, and each contact needs their own Bitwarden account (a free one is fine). You choose whether they get view access (read-only, including attachments) or takeover access, which lets them set a new master password and is permanent. When they request access, a waiting period you set begins; you can approve or reject it, and if you do nothing, access is granted when the wait runs out.

LastPass and others

LastPass and several other managers offer a similar emergency access feature with a waiting period. Search your manager's help centre for "emergency access" to see what it offers and on which plans.

1Password

1Password doesn't use a waiting-period model in the same way. Instead it relies on the Emergency Kit, a PDF holding your sign-in address and Secret Key with space to write your account password, plus account recovery by a family organiser on family plans. Its own advice is to store the kit somewhere safe, such as a locked filing cabinet, a safe or with a solicitor. If you're the only organiser on a family plan, add a second one so recovery doesn't depend on you alone.

Apple Passwords and iCloud Keychain

Apple's Legacy Contact is excellent for photos, files and backups, but Apple is clear that it does not include iCloud Keychain data: passwords, passkeys and payment information. If your passwords live in Apple's Passwords app, you can share chosen ones with family through a shared password group while you're alive, but for the rest you'll need one of the other options below.

Option 2: a sealed paper record

Paper is unfashionable, and it works. A single sheet, sealed in an envelope and kept somewhere safe, can hold exactly what someone needs to get started and no more. The best version doesn't list passwords at all; it points to the one place that holds them.

Notice the hint for the phone passcode. A clue that only your family would understand is often safer than writing the digits out, as long as you're confident they'll get it.

Where you keep the envelope matters as much as what's in it. A home safe, a locked drawer that your executor knows about, or a solicitor's file are all reasonable. Our guide to important documents has more on what to keep together and where.

Option 3: instructions in your will or letter of wishes

Your will should say who your executor is and, ideally, that you have a digital estate plan. It should not contain the passwords themselves.

A letter of wishes is a better home for practical instructions, because it isn't usually published and you can update it without re-signing a will. Even there, point to the password manager rather than listing logins.

What about the law and each service's terms?

This is the part nobody likes, so we'll be plain. Many services say in their terms that your account is personal and your password shouldn't be shared. In some countries, logging in as someone else without the service's permission may also conflict with computer misuse or privacy laws, even with good intentions.

In practice, that means:

• Banks, pensions and investments: don't log in. Your executor should phone them with the death certificate and use their bereavement process. Logging in can freeze accounts or cause disputes.
• Big platforms with legacy tools: use the tool. Google's Inactive Account Manager and Apple's Legacy Contact exist so your family doesn't need your password.
• Everything else: a password manager lets your executor download photos, cancel subscriptions and close accounts. Ask them to keep a note of what they did.

Check local rules, and ask a solicitor or attorney if your estate includes anything complicated, such as a business, cryptocurrency or accounts abroad.

How to set it up this weekend

1. Pick one master route

   If you use a password manager, turn on emergency access or print its recovery kit. If you don't, this is a good reason to start: move your important logins into one.

2. Choose one trusted person, and a backup

   Usually your executor or partner. Tell them they've been chosen and what to do. Emergency access only helps if the person knows to request it.

3. Cover the phone and the email

   Add your phone passcode (or a clue) and note which email address controls everything. Save your main accounts' backup codes in the password manager.

4. Write a short sealed note

   One page: where the vault is, how to get in, and what to leave alone. Keep it with your other important documents.

5. Set a yearly reminder

   Change of phone, master password or email? Update the note. Otherwise check it once a year.

Where Sealkept fits

Sealkept isn't a password manager, and we'd gently suggest you don't store raw passwords anywhere you don't have to, including with us. What it can do well is deliver the note that tells someone how to get in, only when it's needed.

You can write a short letter to your executor saying where your password manager is and how emergency access works, and set its release rule to "only when a verifier confirms". That means it's held back until one of your trusted verifiers has confirmed you're really gone, which suits anything to do with access or money. Letters are encrypted at rest, and for an extra layer you can add an optional private seal: the letter is encrypted in your browser and opens only when the recipient answers a question you set, or uses a printed key card. The answer and key never reach our server. A question is only as private as its answer, so choose one a stranger couldn't guess.

The paper envelope still matters. Many people do both: the emergency kit in a safe, and a Sealkept letter that tells the right person it's there and what to do with it.

Ten minutes on this now saves your family weeks of locked screens later. Start with the one thing that opens everything else.