Have you ever put some thought into what will happen to your online accounts once you're dead? Death is inevitable, and a lot of people tend to not think about it too much. But have you ever wondered what will become of your accounts then? Will they stay locked forever, because no one knows the passwords you took into the grave? Facebook has the answer - now you can decide who will manage your Facebook account once you're gone!
If you come to think about it, the whole idea is pretty comical. While I am sure there are many geeks out there who write down their passwords in encrypted files, the keys to which are contained within their wills (guilty as charged!), a large number of people don't give it much thought, and hence their accounts get locked forever.
With the new Legacy Contact feature, Facebook now wants you to think about who you'd trust enough to have access to your account once you're gone. And with Valentine's day right around the corner, I can take a wild guess as to the topic of conversation between many couples tonight - just saying (:
Facebook Legacy Contact
You can select a trusted contact - a friend or family member - to be your Legacy Contact. Once Facebook is notified that someone has died, it will memorialize their account, and the word 'Remembering' will appear behind their profile names. The Legacy Contact (if chosen) will then be able to access the deceased's account.
The legacy contact will be able to;
- Make a post on the memorialized account's behalf (for example to make an announcement)
- Respond to new friend requests from family members and friends who were not yet connected
- Update the profile picture and cover photo
The legacy contact will NOT have access to;
- Account login information
- Account settings
- Personal messages (inbox) of the deceased person
You can view or add a legacy by going to account Settings >> Security >> Legacy Contact. From here, you can choose whether you want that contact to be able to download and archive of your profile pictures, photos, posts etc.
(If you don't yet see this option, don't worry. The feature has been introduced in the US, and is being rolled out slowly to other users around the world)
Alternatively, you can choose to have your account permanently deleted upon your death.
Let the eventuality sink in for a while! Have a long, happy and blessed life, y'all! Good luck (:
