Inheritance of online businesses in India: What happens to a creator’s digital assets after death?

Succession planning for account access, earnings, intellectual property and commercial agreements is essential.

I am a content creator from Bengaluru. My monetised YouTube Channel and Instagram page support a significant part of my family’s income. If something were to happen to me suddenly, what would happen to my accounts on both platforms?—Name withheld on request

The platforms follow a strict privacy policy and restrict the handing over of passwords to another person, even in the case of death. The death of an account holder may not automatically give family members access to the deceased person’s account.

Family members or legal representatives can submit a request to Google regarding a deceased person’s Google Account. After verifying the request and reviewing the required documentation, Google may, in certain circumstances, provide some account content. They can also request that the deceased person’s Google Account be closed. Google does not provide passwords or guarantee access to all account data.

For your Instagram account, the platform provides the option to either memorialize the account or delete it permanently. Instagram does not allow the family to get an archive of a deceased user’s private data, drafts or direct messages (DMs). If the account is memorialized then the existing posts remain visible, and no new data can be uploaded.

For the YouTube channel, payouts will continue to be deposited into the linked bank accounts as long as the accounts remain active, and the family may be able to access the revenue through them. A rightful heir can submit the required legal documentation to request payment or redirection of accrued earnings. YouTube also reserves the right to turn off monetisation on channels that have not uploaded a video or posted for six months or more; this is not an automatic confiscation of unpaid earnings.

On Instagram, memorialisation prevents the account from operating normally, which may affect ongoing creator activity and monetisation. Brand sponsorships and other commercial agreements must be considered separately: whether they terminate upon the creator's death and what happens to revenue already earned depend on the terms of the particular agreement and applicable law.

Generally, you own the content or intellectual property you create, such as videos, photographs, articles, software or other original works, while the platform owns the software, infrastructure, trademarks and other technology through which the content is hosted. This is subject to the terms and conditions and policy documents of the relevant platform, including those regarding user-generated content and other terms.

For a YouTube business, you can link the channel to a Brand Account and add a trusted person as an additional owner, rather than sharing your Google password. This can facilitate continuity and an eventual transfer of channel ownership. You should also make appropriate arrangements for the bank account into which your business revenues are paid and include the business's digital assets and income rights in your estate/succession planning.

With respect to Instagram, if a user dies, the account can generally be memorialized or an eligible person or legacy contact can request its removal. Therefore, important business content and records should be backed up separately, and succession arrangements for the business, intellectual property and contractual rights should be made outside the Instagram account itself.

Kritika Seth is the founding partner, and Anshita Kohli is an associate at The Victoria Legalis (TVL)