This is What Happens to Your Social Media Accounts When You Die
- Publish date
- Wednesday, 27 Apr 2016, 6:49PM
Photo: iStock
In the modern world when you die there's something left that you probably haven't thought about - your social media accounts.
The privacy laws of companies such as Facebook as well as email providers mean no one is allowed to log in as you, so your loved ones can't even log into your accounts once you've passed. Â
If they do try, it may result in a shutdown of the account and lose all those photos, messages, everything.Â
Here's a brief guide on what happens to certain social media accounts after death.Â
Facebook gives users the option to say in advance whether they’d like to have their account memorialised or permanently deleted from Facebook in the event of their death.
You can also add a 'legacy contact' who will have limited control of the account should you pass on.
After the legacy contact has posted a final message, Facebook makes the profile into a memorial, where friends will not change but messages of sympathy and remembrance can be posted.
Twitter says it can work with a person authorised to act on the behalf of the estate, or with a verified immediate family member of the deceased, to have an account deactivated.
There are avenues in which you can request the removal of a deceased user's account. You will be required to provide information about the deceased, a copy of your ID, and copy of the death certificate.
They are unable to provide account access to anyone regardless of his or her relationship to the deceased.
Instagram also memorialises accounts like Facebook, but with some differences.
Unlike Facebook, Instagram doesn’t allow anyone to log into a memorialised account.Â
The memorialised Instagram profile is visible to the audience they were shared with, but memorialised accounts don't appear in public spaces like searches.
Gmail will allow you to apply to obtain the contents of a deceased person's email.
You can also set it to have an "Inactive Account Manager" which either shares or delete your account after a set period of inactivity.
Apple's iCloud email and iTunes accounts are subject to different rules.
The corporation says : "You agree that your Account is non-transferable and that any rights to your Apple ID or Content within your Account terminate upon your death.
"Upon receipt of a copy of a death certificate your Account may be terminated and all Content within your Account deleted."
