How to deal with Social Media after Someone Dies?
Photo by Rodion Kutsaiev on Unsplash
What happens to social media accounts after death?
It used to be that people would leave behind old photo albums, handwritten letters, and diaries - a precious paper trail of their lives. Family members could gather around, hold the physical documents in their hands, and reminisce about their loved ones.
These days it is becoming more likely that someone will leave behind social media accounts - a digital legacy of online photos, messages, and posts on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter (X).
Understandably, contacting social media platforms to gain access to accounts isn’t usually the first thing on people’s minds when a loved one passes away. But if the account is not dealt with, the account and all of its contents will either be automatically deleted after a period of inactivity (such as on Twitter) or it will continue to send notifications (such as on Facebook). Receiving an automated notification, for example, to “Wish Happy Birthday” to a loved one who has passed away can be an upsetting experience. Furthermore, leaving accounts active increases the risk of future security problems or scams.
Luckily, the process of dealing with social media accounts has become more straightforward as online companies have developed better policies for accessing the accounts and more options for closing the accounts.
Who has access to a person’s account after that person has died?
On many platforms, the account owner can designate a legacy contact who will have the authority to access the account after the original owner has passed. Consider taking a minute to list a legacy contact in the settings section of your own social media accounts to make it easier on your family members if you were to pass away. If someone passes away without designating a legacy contact, the person managing the estate (such as the executor or trustee) or an immediate family member can usually submit an online form to the social media company along with a copy of the death certificate to gain control of the account.
What can I do with a social media account when the account owner has died?
The three main options for dealing with social media accounts are to (1) entirely delete the account, (2) download some parts of the account before deleting the rest, or (3) memorialize the account.
Delete – You can choose to delete the account and all of its contents. Deleting the account will remove all photos and posts, and it will look as though the account never existed. This can be a good option if the account does not have a lot of meaningful content, you want to preserve the account owner’s privacy by no longer publicly displaying information about the person, or you want to eliminate the risk of the account being hacked.
Download then delete – Another option is to go through the content of each social media account and selectively download or screenshot information that you would like to preserve before deleting the account. With this option, you can save the most special digital content, while ultimately removing the public account and eliminating the risk of security issues or other problems associated with maintaining an active account.
Whether this approach makes sense depends on how your loved one used the account and whether you enjoy sifting through years of digital content. While some accounts contain a lot of unique content such as thoughtful musings and personal photos, others contain primarily generic content such as memes and recipes that might not be worth saving. Some people find that looking through old social media content is too tedious, time-consuming, or upsetting; while others find it to be a cathartic experience that brings back memories of their loved one.
3. Memorialize
Many social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn now offer the ability to memorialize an account. This essentially freezes the account so that automated messages and notifications are deactivated, but the existing content will remain public. Instead of simply stating the person’s name on the home page of the account, it will be updated to read “In memory of” before the person’s name (or something similar depending on the platform). If old acquaintances were to search for the person in the future, they would be able to find the memorialized page, learn of the person’s passing, and read old posts.
If you notify friends and family before you memorialize the account and the messaging features are deactivated, you can use the account as an interactive obituary or online guestbook where people can leave final farewell messages. Some people have also used the direct messaging feature to write a private note to their loved one expressing what they might not have had a chance to say during life.
Taking the time to delete or memorialize a person’s online accounts can be an important and meaningful step in the process of settling someone’s estate.
If you have questions regarding your estate planning and its relationship to your needs and legacy, we would be happy to help you here at Hillsborough Wills & Trusts. Our goal is to provide you with the highest quality Estate Planning to build your Circle of Security.
Call us today at 919-245-8440 or contact us at: https://hillsboroughwills.com/contact