2024-07-04 22:42:51
Social media accounts remain alive and active unless a family member informs the respective platform that the person has passed away.
Some platforms offer the option to close the profile once relatives report the death, while others give other alternatives.
For example, when Meta – the company that owns Facebook and Instagram – receives a death certificate, the deceased’s account can be deleted or turned into a “memorial” account, meaning it is frozen in time and becomes a page that remembers the user and allows them to post photos and memories.
A message saying “in memoriam” then appears next to the user’s name, and no one can access or use the account unless the original user has provided an “authorized contact” to manage the content or request that the profile be deactivated.
On Facebook, memorialized accounts are no longer recommended to potential virtual friends in the “People You May Know” tab. and users on the deceased person’s friends list do not receive birthday notifications.
Google, which owns YouTube, Gmail and Google Photos, is giving users the option to change settings to decide what happens to their accounts if they remain inactive for a certain period of time.
X (formerly Twitter) does not offer the option to save the profile “in memory” of the deceased and it is only possible to deactivate the account in the event of death or the owner’s inability to use it.
“There are a number of approaches, but all companies prioritise the privacy of the deceased,” says Joe Tidy, technology correspondent for the BBC World Service.
«Access data is not shared, and certain data such as photos and videos can only be accessed with specific requests that sometimes require a court order.»
Newer social networks such as TikTok and Snapchat, however, have no such provision, she added.
Should we prepare a digital will?
Active profiles of deceased users can be a problem if data, photos or other content falls into the wrong hands, warns Sasa Zivanovic, a cybercrime expert and former head of the high-tech crime department at the Serbian Interior Ministry.
Someone could download some of your profile data or even take control of your entire account.
«Photographs, data and videos can be used to create fake accounts under the name of the deceased person and extort money from acquaintances and friends who do not know that the person in question has died«, afirma Zivanovic.
James Norris, founder of the UK’s Digital Legacy Association, stresses that it’s important for everyone to back up data when they can.
He points out that on Facebook, for example, you can download a complete archive of photos and videos and send it to a family member.
“If I was diagnosed with a terminal illness and had a young child who wasn’t on Facebook, I could download all my photos and videos, delete the messages because I wouldn’t want my child to see my private messages, collect my favorite photos and write a story about each one,” she explains.
Caption,James Norris advises preparing a digital will.
Norris believes it is crucial to plan what will happen to your social media accounts when you die and recommends people prepare a “digital and social media will.”
«Ultimately, social media is a business. “These platforms are not the guardians of your digital legacy,” he says. “You are the guardian of your digital legacy.”
However, she believes that social media platforms could make the process easier for relatives.
“It’s important to make known the features and tools available on each platform. When they exist, not everyone knows they exist,” he says.
«Digital legacy is not limited to social media»
“Digital legacy is a big issue,” warns Sarah Stanley, a nurse at the UK-based charity Marie Curie, which provides care and support to terminally ill people and their loved ones.
Underlines that People need to think not just about their social media accounts, but about everything they own digitally and what to do with it. in case of death.
“Digital photos and videos can hold a lot of memories. We do a lot of banking online now,” he explains.
«We have also seen a rise in the popularity of online gaming, where people spend a lot of time and effort creating their avatars and living in an online space.»
«So I think it’s worth saying that digital legacy is not limited to social media.»
Atanley agrees that it is important to start thinking about what we have digitally and what we want to happen with it.
«Do we want someone to take over our social media accounts? Do we want someone to remember them? Do we want to leave our children a digital photo album? Or do we want to print them out like we used to and have a nice printed photo album that we can leave to someone when we’re dead? Digital legacy is something to think about and talk about«.
Caption,Hayley says she wants to turn Matthew’s Facebook profile into a memorial page.
For Hayley and Matthew, however, it was not an easy topic to discuss.
“I didn’t really talk to Matt about it when he was dying, because he didn’t want to talk about death,” Hayley says.
“Also, when his illness worsened, he was not himself. So he was not able to answer my questions.”
Hayley says she still wants to keep Matthew’s memory on her Facebook page, but she’s not doing that at the moment.
“It’s very painful to constantly look at a death certificate. That’s why I haven’t done it.”
“I think it’s an overly complicated process and that companies should make it easier for family members,” she says.