{"id":24936,"date":"2014-03-12T12:41:14","date_gmt":"2014-03-12T20:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=24936"},"modified":"2014-03-12T12:41:14","modified_gmt":"2014-03-12T20:41:14","slug":"prepare-digital-afterlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/prepare-digital-afterlife\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prepare for the Digital Afterlife"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

So it turns out that as early as the 2060s, there could be more dead profiles\u00a0on Facebook<\/a> than living ones.<\/p>\n

And by dead, I don\u2019t mean inactive. I mean user deceased.<\/p>\n

Gone.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an eerie thought, this idea of some digital wind blowing through a huge social network, rattling empty profiles and abandoned online outposts.<\/p>\n

It makes you think about things. Like what happens to your Facebook when you die? Who gets your iTunes library? Can someone take over your eBay account?<\/p>\n

Digital death raises a lot of questions. So what are the answers? It\u2019s a sensitive subject, yet we shouldn’t shy away from it. Death is inevitable, and all our profiles in aren\u2019t going to disappear just because we do.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s some advice about how to prepare your profiles for post-you \u2013 plus what you can do with your friends and family members\u2019 account after they pass away.<\/p>\n

Learn what to do with social accounts<\/h3>\n

Social media profiles are constant reminders of the person you\u2019ve lost. Post-death, the constant stream of updates and posts abruptly stops, leaving a haunting and heart-breaking void. So what can you do about this? What do the big social companies let you do?<\/p>\n

Facebook allows friends and family members to turn profiles of deceased users into a memorial page<\/a>\u00a0which still retains the content that previously existed. This used to only be available to on-site friends of the deceased, but Facebook has controversially changed its terms<\/a> of service so that if your profile was open to the public pre-death, it will be post-death as well.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Other social networks don\u2019t offer the same memorial opportunities as Facebook. For most of them, it\u2019s about fulfilling the technical (and legal) obligations of closing down accounts. So how does this work?<\/p>\n

Twitter requires copies of a range of documents to deactivate a third-party\u2019s profile. This includes a copy of the death certificate and a signed statement from the person making the request.<\/p>\n

With Flickr, an executor may need to have a username and password to delete an account. Once deleted, no photo content will be publicly accessible. It\u2019ll even be deleted from Flickr\u2019s servers.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, you might need to submit a report to Instagram if you don\u2019t have the username and password of the person that\u2019s died. If you do have their info, you can login, edit profile and delete.<\/p>\n

Understand what to do with retail accounts<\/h3>\n

Okay, so we\u2019ve looked at social profiles, but what about accounts where you\u2019ve bought stuff? Sold stuff?<\/p>\n

It may come as a shock to you, but you don\u2019t own anything you\u2019ve bought from iTunes. What you\u2019ve paid for is the right to consume that content \u2013 not own it. And so technically it can\u2019t be transferred to another user. You might still be able to work something out with Apple, though. Get in touch<\/a> and see.<\/p>\n

\"Understand<\/a><\/p>\n

What about all your Google-related content? Google\u2019s Inactive Account Manager<\/a> explains what should happen with digital assets once someone has died. A trusted friend or relative could also be nominated to receive data, so all your Gmail, YouTube and Google+ accounts and content could be transferred to your best friend or a relative.<\/p>\n

Amazon and Kindle require the user\u2019s email address and a copy of the death certificate, or an executor could contact customer service with the user account details, and should then be able to access content, such as music stored on the Cloud Drive.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, PayPal requires an executor<\/a> to send copies of their ID, the will and a death certificate to allow access to an account if a user has died. Ebay requires a court order, and Netflix has no information about how to delete a user\u2019s account \u2013 you\u2019ll have to call them.<\/p>\n

Read more about digital death<\/h3>\n

Death is a scary topic for most people, and the thought of what happens to your online presence after you die can be overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. By taking the time and effort to put the right controls in place, you can carry on with enjoying life and not worry about stuff. To learn more about this phenomenon, read\u00a0this ebook guide on\u00a0dealing with digital death<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Digital death raises a lot of questions. So what are the answers? It\u2019s a sensitive subject, yet we shouldn’t shy away from it. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":24944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[2162],"tags":[3568,1682,3565,3567,303,3566,304],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Prepare for the Digital Afterlife<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Digital death raises a lot of questions. So what are the answers? It\u2019s a sensitive subject, yet we shouldn't shy away from it. 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