The uncommon agency for the common good

Facebook no longer limited to the living.

Feb 13, 2015 | by Accepted Protege | Advertising News, Digital Trends

Have you ever wondered what will happen to your social media accounts after you die? For the people that have lost loved ones, this has been a delicate and frustrating process to go through. After some years of users complaints, Facebook announced the introduction of a new feature that allows for users to designate a “legacy contact”, a person that will be able to manage their Facebook account after their death.

According to an article from USA Today, after Facebook gets a notification about the death of a user, they will add a tagline over the user’s name saying “Remembering” and notify the legacy contact. Then, that person will be able to access the account of the deceased to post and archive pictures, wall posts or friend’s list, turning it into a virtual memorial. Until now, Facebook could only turn the account into a memorial so people could view it, but not manage or edit it. This change in policy will also provide users with an option to delete their account in case of their death, or simply to do nothing.

Well, if you had never thought about what would happen to your Facebook account after you die, you definitely are thinking about it now. If you are anything like me, you are probably running some names through your head and trying to figure out who you want your person to be – or if you even want your profile to still be up after you die. Because what could be more strange than having a deceased person “posting” post mortem?

What do you think? Would you appreciate the closure, or would you be put off receiving notifications from a deceased person’s account?

 

Stay informed. Sign up with your email address and receive news and updates.