8/2/2019 What Happens to Our Social Media Identity When We Die

1/2

What Happens to Our Social Media Identity

When We Die?

Presented by Rajesh JyotishiMay 2012

How long does our online presence last?

If you use Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter,

you may have wondered what happens when

users die. Are profiles immortal? Are

memories lost? Few users really know.

Curiosity about this topic dates to the days of

MySpace. When young MySpace users died,

their pages lived onthe social media portal

went with a policy of not assigning control of

a dead users account to another person,

reflecting both privacy concerns and respect

for the deceased. So how do the major social

media sites in this decade handle such

issues?

Facebook. If you pass away, your page wont disappear unless you or your loved ones decide

that it should.

Facebook adopted a policy of memorializing the pages of deceased users. When an account is

memorialized, no one can log into it any further. Memorialized pages are taken out of

Facebooks powerful general search option, but their walls remain open for tribute postings by

Facebook friends. In fact, only friends can see the profile/timeline.

Memorialization isnt the only choice available. An account can be taken down if verifiedimmediate family members or executors request. To submit such a request, you log into

Facebook, visit the Facebook Help Center, and visit Basics Manage Your Account Privacy.

A link gives you an opportunity to notify Facebook of a deceased user, and this leads to a simple

form. Besides the basics (full name of user, page URL and the dead users email address), youmust report your relationship to the user and state whether you want the profile to be removed or

not. It also asks for you to upload the death or birth certificate of the deceased, or another file

document showing proof of authority to report the death under local law.

Here's an interesting development: In 2012, an Israeli company called Willook created a free

Facebook app called If I Die. The app asks you to appoint three trustees for your Facebookprofile. These trustees can use the app to confirm your death, whereupon your final status

8/2/2019 What Happens to Our Social Media Identity When We Die

2/2

updates and videos will appear on your profile, either all at once or according to a schedule.

There is no limit to the number of post-mortem status updates and videos you may create.

LinkedIn. The worlds largest professional network might memorialize your profile if you

pass away. In its privacy notice, LinkedIn states: If we learn that a User is deceased, we may

memorialize the Users account. In these cases we may restrict profile access, remove messagingfunctionality, and close an account if we receive a formal request from the Users next of kin orother proper legal request to do so. So the policy mimics Facebooks, though memorialization is

not a given.

Twitter. When it comes to deactivating accounts of deceased users, Twitter takes a very

thorough approach. You must actually mail or fax the requested documentation to its San

Francisco headquarters.

As its Help Center notes, Twitter requires you to provide

The account username (@username, twitter.com/username)

A copy of the users death certificate A copy of your drivers license (or government-issued ID card) A signed, notarized statement presenting:

1. Your first and last name

2. Your current contact information

3. Your email address

4. Your relationship to the deceased Twitter account user

5. The action you want accomplished (please deactivate the Twitter account for ________)

6. Either a link to an online obituary of the deceased or a copy of a newspaper obituary of thedeceased (this is optional).

It only accepts this documentation from verified immediate family members or executors

(specifically, a person authorized to act on behalf of the estate).

When a Twitter user dies, no heir, relative, friend or executor can log into the accountno one.

Its policy states, We are unable to provide login information for the account to anyone

regardless of his or her relationship to the deceased.

Your digital assets can be managed after your passing.

Websites like Legacy Locker and DataInherit exist to help people safeguard and convey online

data to heirs. Sites such as Great Goodbye, Great Respectance, and 1,000memories serve as

portals for last emails, last videos and posthumous online tributes. Considering all this, it seems

that the online world may be more ready for our passing than we are.

Published byKhabar Magazine,Moneywisesection May 2012.

http://www.khabar.com/http://www.khabar.com/http://www.khabar.com/http://www.khabar.com/moneywise/http://www.khabar.com/moneywise/http://www.khabar.com/moneywise/http://www.khabar.com/moneywise/http://www.khabar.com/