What happens to on-line presence after you’re gone?
Dealing with digital accounts is not usually the first thing on one’s mind when it comes to end-of-life planning. However, those charged with handling your affairs may be at a loss when sorting out your digital affairs. To make the situation easier, why not think about it ahead of time and leave some instructions.
Introducing digital wills
While It’s not a legally binding document, your digital will can explain what you want to happen and when. To start, its best to create a digital registry or log that includes all of the digital accounts you have. A) State what the account is for, B) note the username, and related email, and C) add the password information to facilitate easy log in, D) record any digital subscriptions, recurring or otherwise, and the accounts they are tied to and of course, automatic payments / end dates. This should include monthly payment or shopping accounts like: Disney, Netflix, Sirius Radio, newspaper/magazines, and shopping accounts like Amazon, Nespresso etc. (to remember those that are recurring check your bank statement for reminders).
Your digital registry (DR) can provide instructions for each account, in the event of your death. If the account includes sensitive information access to the document should be limited to a trusted few. Remember, you can choose to do nothing. If you don’t delete or memorialize an account it may provide comfort for family or friends who wish to scroll through it or message it during grieving.
Now let’s talk about different options for accounts, whether it be:
• Deleting
• Deactivating or
• Memorializing.
Facebook / Instagram: Meta, which runs these sites has a more official process of ‘Memorializing’ accounts on their platform. After contacting Facebook with the appropriate documentation (i.e., a death certificate), and proof of your authority, such as your Power of Attorney, they will, if you wish, memorialize the account.
This process will make it possible for the deceased’s account to be viewed, posts to be shared, and memories to remain. However, the memorialization of the account will make it impossible for the account to be logged into, or hacked Meta also clearly showcases the memorialization by including a remembering tag next to the account name, reducing confusion. Of course, you can also arrange to have the account deleted.
TikTok: being a newer social media, is less clear on their policies, but it’s helpful to note that they do reset usernames after 180 days of inactivity.
Snapchat: two ways to delete this account, one is to log into the account and follow the delete prompts if able, and another is to contact Snapchat and follow their prompts to submit a copy of the death certificate for them to delete the account.
Pinterest: to remove this account you must email care@pinterest.com and give them a copy of proof of death (certificate or obituary) and you have to also send proof of your relationship (marriage certificate or listed on the obituary).
LinkedIn accounts can be closed if the person can provide proof that you have the legal authority to do so with necessary documentation. You also have the memorialization option for the decedent’s LinkedIn profile.
Apple allows users to add a legacy contact to an Apple ID, which generates an access key. The user shares that access key with their legacy contact. After a user’s death, the legacy contact must show the access key and the user’s death certificate to retrieve the data on the user’s account for three years.
Other social accounts: X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and TikTok, have no official memorializing protocols. Right now, the only options are to let the account remain active, or apply to have it deleted However, if you do not have log in information, you can reach out to sites such as X (formerly Twitter) and provide them with the documentation of death and your authority, similarly to Facebook, and they will delete the account.
Email Accounts providers such as Google or Outlook, have a few different policies that affect account longevity. Both sites will deactivate accounts that are inactive for a period of up to 2 years.
Google accounts may be used for various social media platforms like YouTube account or to store your photos. Google has a more comprehensive process around this, once again allowing the accounts of the deceased to be deleted with the appropriate documentation (i.e., Power of Attorney and death certificate).
Gmail also offers an inactive account manager that will allow users to pass some account information off to survivor’s email after a period of inactivity set out by yourself. Outlook offers less inactivity customization, simply allowing all inactive accounts to auto delete after 2 years. Of course, if needed and next of kin have the account information, they can set an appropriate out of office message, and forward emails to another account.
Anjolina Rankin-West is an editorial intern at the Canadian Abilities Foundation.
