Most Britons lack plans for digital assets after death

Most people in the UK have made no arrangements for what happens to their digital lives after death, with older adults the least prepared, according to research by Compare the Market.

A survey of 2,001 UK adults found only 10% had a plan for who would inherit their digital assets, falling to 5% among those aged 55 and over. It also found 19% had not thought about their "digital legacy", while 15% had only told someone verbally.

Digital assets can include cryptocurrency and NFTs, as well as cloud-stored photographs, email accounts and social media profiles. Compare the Market linked the lack of planning to a broader shift in how people store personal and financial information, with more of daily life taking place on apps and online services.

Sentimental blind spot

Many respondents did not believe they held anything valuable online. In the survey, 47% said they did not have "any significant digital assets", rising to 62% among those aged 55 and over.

Compare the Market said this points to a gap between perception and reality, particularly for personal messages and photographs. Messaging services and other apps can hold family memories and documents that may not exist elsewhere.

The company also pointed to the UK's wider online footprint, citing Ofcom data showing 95% of adults have home internet access and 90% use WhatsApp. It also referenced Financial Conduct Authority research putting cryptocurrency ownership at 12%.

Law change

The findings come as the UK's legal framework for digital property develops. The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, which became law in December 2025, recognises digital assets such as crypto and email accounts as personal property.

The legislation may make it easier for executors and administrators to identify and recover digital property, but access still depends on steps taken during a person's lifetime. Passwords, private keys and account recovery processes remain controlled by service providers and platforms, and estate documents still need to set out what is held and how it should be handled.

Compare the Market warned that digital assets can fall outside clear instructions if they are not named in a will or in arrangements linked to life insurance. Families can also struggle to access accounts even when assets are legally recognised, particularly when there is no record of logins or when multi-factor authentication is tied to a locked device.

Age divide

Younger adults were more likely to have considered digital inheritance, though planning remained limited overall. Among 18 to 24 year olds, 21% had created a "digital will" or shared passwords securely.

Preparedness fell sharply among older people. Compare the Market described this as a "digital drafting gap" and linked it to lower confidence in the value of digital property and less familiarity with managing online accounts.

The survey also suggested some people had taken informal steps that may not work in practice. It found 15% had told someone verbally what they wanted but had not made any written arrangements.

Insurance prompts

Compare the Market's life insurance team highlighted situations that can prompt changes in beneficiary choices, including relationship changes, modern parenting structures, shared financial responsibilities, and charitable interests.

It also flagged digital updates as another reason to review arrangements, such as setting up legacy contacts on platforms that offer them and keeping an offline record of key accounts and private keys.

It noted that policy owners can often change a nominated beneficiary before a claim, but arrangements may be fixed if a policy is held in a trust, depending on its structure and terms.

Emily Barnett, a life insurance expert at Compare the Market, said the shift in how people live and store information has not been matched by changes in household estate planning.

"We are living in a digital age, yet our approach to inheritance is still largely analogue in some areas. Digital assets, from high-value crypto wallets to family photos stored in the cloud, are now legally recognised assets that may need the same protection as our physical homes."

"The digital 'drafting gap' we're seeing, especially among over-55s, is important. If you don't explicitly name your digital beneficiaries, you risk leaving your loved ones locked out of your most precious memories or unable to access online financial assets," Barnett said.

Compare the Market said the survey was conducted by Censuswide and examined whether people had considered the inheritance of digital assets as part of wider estate planning.