What does happen to a YouTube channel when its creator passes away?

These two local YouTube stars died within weeks of each other, leaving many of their millions of loyal subscribers clinging to the years of content that they had passionately put up. “This is no longer a channel,” a comment read in the final video Emman Nimedez had uploaded. “This is a museum of a great person.”

The internet is mourning a tragic loss, as beloved YouTube and Facebook personality, Lloyd Cafe Cadena, passed away at 26 years old, according to Today. The Filipino vlogger and social media star, who had more than 5.3 million Youtube subscribers and 6.8 million followers on Facebook upon his passing, brought joy to countless fans with his upbeat lifestyle videos since he began posting on YouTube in 2011. The loss was announced by his family on Facebook on Sep. 4, 2020, who did not share the cause of death.

But the question is: Will this “museum” ever close? Will the videos be deleted some time in the future, given the channel’s inactivity? What does happen to a YouTube channel when its creator passes away?

This has happened before. The first and most obvious effect is that the channel stops posting videos suddenly with no explanation. If anybody close to the YouTuber has/recieves the password, or is able to get into the account through other means, then they will likely make a video anouncing the YouTuber’s death, along with an apology.

Some comment say's when nobody can get into the account, then the account basically freezes in place. YouTube keeps paying adsense money until the videos stop profitting, unless the bank account is closed. Somebody close to the YouTuber will make an anouncement on either their own channel or on social media, regretfully informing everyone of the YouTuber’s death.

And according to Google, there are two options regarding a deceased user’s account.

Google will abide by the creator’s plans for it, provided they had mapped one up using their “inactive account manager” feature. This is the “best way for you to let us know who should have access to your information, and whether you want your account to be deleted,” Google said.

The other is to have a family or a trusted representative “make a request for a deceased person's account.”

Google wrote about this option: “We recognize that many people pass away without leaving clear instructions about how to manage their online accounts.

“We can work with immediate family members and representatives to close the account of a deceased person where appropriate. In certain circumstances we may provide content from a deceased user's account.

“In all of these cases, our primary responsibility is to keep people's information secure, safe, and private.

“We cannot provide passwords or other login details. Any decision to satisfy a request about a deceased user will be made only after a careful review.”

Three requests can be made: Close the account of a deceased user, submit a request for funds from a deceased user's account, and obtain data from a deceased user's account.

Nimedez passed away last August 16, after a battle with acute myeloid leukemia, while Cadena died this Friday. It remains unclear how the latter died, but its suddenness prompted an outpouring of tributes and calls to support his mother, given how Cadena has yet to pay for their new house.

The house was what Lloyd Cafe Cadena really wanted to give his mother, who was an overseas Filipino worker, as a retirement gift. Prior, they had lived in the slums.