Facebook Digital Legacy Guide (all the options)

FAcebook

Overview

 

Facebook has helped changed the way in which we grieve and remember those who have died, forever.

When a Facebook user dies the photos on their account and the interactions that they made converts from their ‘digital footprint’ to forging part of their ‘digital legacy’.

Facebook is often the first place where we learn of someones death. A Facebook account of a deceased friend or family member can soon become a resource of great comfort during the grieving process. Due to the amount of time we spend on Facebook it is becoming more and more important that we make plans for what we would like to happen to our own Facebook account once we have died. The information below provides all of the information and options currently available to help you decide which steps are most suitable for you

 

 

Deciding what you would like to happen to your Facebook profile once you have passed away

 

*Before you decide what you would like to happen to your Facebook account once you have died, why not create a backup and download a copy of your Facebook data? This will allow you to pass on your Facebook photos, videos, messages etc to your next of kin today.  Click here to read the tutorial

 

There are different ways to address what happens to your Facebook account and who can access it once upon death. It is important that each of us decides what happens to our own content to help ensure that each person’s wishes are adhered to. We recommend that whatever you decide that you inform at least one person what your wishes are. Ideally you would document what you would like to happen to your Facebook account in your Social Media Will (click here to download the free template). You Social media Will could then be appended to your in your last Will & Testament and stored in a safe place.

By following the guidelines above you are more likely to have your digital end of life wishes met. Furthermore the stress and burden for those left behind following your death may be reduced.

 

Deciding what should happen to your Facebook account upon death (all of the options)

 

Below are a list of all of the options currently available when planning what should happen to a Facebook account upon death. If you have any questions or require support please feel free to contact us and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

 

1). Setup Facebook ‘Legacy Contact’

 

Facebook users can now assign a ‘legacy contact. This ultimately provides a chosen Facebook user with access to your photos and videos once you have died.

Legacy contact

 

What Facebook say:

 

A legacy contact is someone you choose to look after your account if it’s memorialized. Once your account is memorialized, your legacy contact will have the option to do things like:

 

  • Write a pinned post for your profile (ex: to share a final message on your behalf or provide information about a memorial service)
  • Respond to new friend requests (ex: old friends or family members who weren’t yet on Facebook)
  • Update your profile picture and cover photo
  • You also have the option to allow your legacy contact to download a copy of what you’ve shared on Facebook, and we may add additional capabilities for legacy contacts in the future.

 

Your legacy contact can’t:

 

  • Log into your account
  • Remove or change past posts, photos and other things shared on your Timeline
  • Read messages you’ve sent to other friends
  • Remove any of your friends
  • Learn more about memorialization and how to add a legacy contact to your account.

Note: You must be 18 or older to select a legacy contact.

(source Facebook)

 

 What DeadSocial say: 

 

This is a good initiative by Facebook and it will help a lot people.  We have provided a step-by-step tutorial below demonstrating how to set Facebook’s legacy contact. We would however like to see this feature expanded in the near future. We would especially like those under the age of 18 to also be allowed to assign a ‘Legacy Contact’. This could occur by a parent providing consent within the process itself.

 

How to setup your Facebook Legacy Contact

 

  1. Go to the Legacy Contact area on Facebook by clicking here
  2. Type in the name of the person who you would like to make your ‘Legacy Contact’

 

Facebook Legacy Contact Tutorial 1 

 

  3.  You will now have the option to send your chosen legacy contact a message. The default message generated by Facebook is shown below. 

 

Facebook Legacy Contact Message

 

4.  You should now be able to assign access to your photos and videos to your chosen legacy contact. You can also state that if would like your account to be deleted upon death.

 Legacy Contact Final step Download content

By Assigning a ‘Legacy Contact’ using Facebook you cannot:

 

*Assigning a Legacy Contact is only available for those over the age of 18. If you are under the age of 18 or a parent of a Facebook user under the age of 18 we recommend reading the alternative options below. You may want to download the data from your Facebook account / request that your child downloads their data and passes it on to you. To do so follow the tutorial: How to download your Facebook Data and pass it on to your next of kin)

 

Leave your Facebook password to one or more friend or family members.

 

  • If you leave your password to one or more peson(s) it is vital that they are informed each time you update your password. 
  • Remember that all of the messages you have sent and received will be accessible by those who have been given your password to. This option may not be suitable for those who would like conversations with others to remain private. On the other hand, if someone is granted full access (via password) to a Facebook account it may significantly ease the process of inviting friends and family members to a funeral.
  • There are a number of (paid for) services that allow you to save passwords in a virtual vault. These are then accessed after the owner of the account passes away by their chosen executors. These accounts can be of use, however the password’s owner needs to remember to update the passwords in the account each time they change. You can also save your passwords for free using Google Drive, Dropbox or by creating an encryped folder on your desktop.

 

2). Use DeadSocial to say “goodbye” and leave timely messages on your Facebook wall once you have died.

 

  • Create one or more ‘goodbye’ messages to be sent out on your Facebook wall once you have passed away. These need to be created and saved on DeadSocial. These are only sent out when your chosen digital executor (administrator) feels that the time is right to do so.
  • Messages that are sent to Facebook can also be made accessible on each user’s dedicated DeadSocal profile. This ensures that friends and family who are not on Facebook are also able read and watch the messages released.

Example post to Facebook using DeadSocial

 

To learn more about how to say “goodbye” and leave timely messages on your Facebook wall once you have died click here 

 

3). Request that your Facebook account becomes ‘Memorialized’

 

Facebook allow for accounts of the deceased to be memorialized. There are benefits to this however it does restrict certain features and functionalities for those left behind.

 

Below are some of the key features of memorialized accounts

 

  • Memorialized accounts cannot be modified in any way. This includes adding or removing friends, modifying photos or deleting any pre-existing content posted by the person.
  • Depending on the privacy settings of the deceased person’s account, friends can share memories on the memorialized Timeline.
  • Anyone can send private messages to the deceased person.
  • Content the deceased person shared (ex: photos, posts) remains on Facebook and is visible to the audience it was shared with.
  • Memorialized Timelines don’t appear in public spaces.
  • Groups solely belonging to a memorialized account will be able to select new admins, while Pages will be removed from Facebook.
  • If you request that your account is memorialized your profile will remain live however private messages etc are no longer accessible. 
  • If you have the password for the deceased’s account once memorialised you will no longer have access to the account or be able to view their private messages.

 

You cannot memorialize your own Facebook account. If you would like your Facebook account to become memorialized after your death you can state your wishes using Facebook’s legacy contact. We recommend that you also state what your wishes are within your social media will.

 

3). Request that your Facebook account is deleted (deactivated)

 

Every Facebook user is able to delete their own account (whilst alive) or request that it is deleted upon death.

Before deciding to delete a Facebook account or requesting that your account be deleted once you pass away it is worth considering the implications that his may have on those left behind. Remembering and mourning those who have died by visiting and interacting on Facebook is becoming increasingly intertwind with the greiving process. When an account is deleted photos, videos and conversations are removed. This can cause heartache for the left behind.

 

  • To find out more information about deleting the account of someone who has died click here
  • If you are thinking about deleting your account you may want to download your media first. To learn more about downloading your media click here
  • To find out more information about deleting your own account click here
  • You are also able to request that your account is deleted when assigning a Legacy Contact (as shown above)

 

“If someone you care about passes away how important is it for you to be able to view their social media accounts?”

Digital Death Survey - If someone you care about passes away how important is it for you to be able to view their social media accounts

Data attained from DeadSocial’s Digital Death Survey in 2014. 

 

4). Do nothing

 

The final option is not to make any plans and not to inform anyone about what you would like to happen to your Facebook account. When plans are not stated normally Facebook profiles of the deceased remain live and/or they are memorialized by a close friend or family member. By ‘doing nothing’ you may cause stress on those left behind as they try to decide what they should do with your Facebook account.

In some circumstances legal challenges have been mounted from a deceased user’s family to attain access to their Facebook photos, videos and private messages.

 

Further Social Media End of Life Planning tutorials that you may find of interest

 

 

Downloading your media & data from social networks

 

 

Other tutorials that you may find of interest

 

 

End of Life planning tutorials (general)

 

 

New: BBC Radio 5 Live discuss Facebook’s recent Legacy Contact update…