Pondering Our Digital Existence
Death is a natural part of life, but have you ever pondered what transpires with your social media accounts, files, photos, and your online presence on your digital devices such as computers, phones, and tablets when you pass away?
Policies of Renowned Social Media Platforms
Facebook presents two distinct options regarding what happens to the accounts of the deceased. They can either memorialise the deceased's account or permanently delete it at the request of the deceased's family. Read more
Instagram, akin to its parent company Facebook, provides the ability to either memorialise or permanently delete the account of the deceased Instagram user. Read more
Twitter operates similarly to Facebook and Instagram, requiring the consent of the deceased Twitter user's legal heir or immediate family member to delete their account. Read more
YouTube
YouTube, being associated with Google, utilises the Inactive Account Manager feature to determine what happens to the accounts of users who have been inactive for a long time, including following death. Read more
The Footprints We Leave Behind
What transpires with our digital assets after death? From our photos to our videos, from music to e-mails, our digital footprints are vast. We need to decide what happens to these when we're no longer here.
Organising Your Digital Afterlife
Users can request their digital assets to be deleted, memorialised, or delegate this decision to others post their demise. This encompasses a wide array of digital assets such as e-mails, financial accounts, family photos, music collections, and social media accounts.
Microsoft's Nearest Relative Process
Microsoft permits the release of content from Outlook.com, inclusive of emails and attachments, address book, and Messenger contact list, to the relatives of the deceased account holder. However, the account password and ownership cannot be altered or transferred. Read more
Apple's Stance
When an Apple user passes away, their account, App Store, and all things in iCloud are effectively terminated. To recover these documents, the deceased's relatives would need to engage in legal proceedings. Read more
Google's Inactive Account Manager
Google provides a feature where users can decide what happens to their accounts if they cease using them, including in the event of death. Users can designate who will be able to access their data and services after a pre-selected period of inactivity. Read more
Safeguarding Our Photos and Documents
There are numerous ways to ensure the photographs and documents we cherish can be left as a legacy to our loved ones. This can be achieved by uploading them to cloud storage or archiving them on an external disk.
Nominating a Digital Proxy
Nominating a digital proxy is a measure you can take to ensure your digital assets are managed according to your wishes after your death. This individual can be a trusted friend, family member, or your solicitor.
Drafting a Comprehensive To-Do List
A comprehensive file containing all your accounts, passwords, and internet assets should be prepared. This list should also include instructions on how to access these assets. Various methods like password management applications or traditional password books can be used.
Memorial Stories: An Online Memorial Manager
Creating online memorials to honour and cherish your dearly loved ones can aid in processing your emotions. Memorial Stories is an online platform that provides an online memorial manager to create such memorials.