What happens to your Facebook account after you are dead? Facebook has the answer

What happens to your Facebook account when you are no longer available, er, dead? It has always been one of the most controversial subjects, and most technology companies are still wondering if the digital purchases and one’s footprints should be transferred. But as long as you’re concerned about your Facebook account, you can let your loved one take care of it when you’re gone. Facebook on Thursday introduced “legacy contact” wherein it will allow one to decide who can access their account when they’re gone.

The company until now ceased the account of a person after learning they’re dead, resulting in clashes between the company and the deceased’s loved ones. But on Thursday, it announced that residents in the United States can now utilize this new feature, and it will be rolling out to other regions soon. Of course, for those who don’t wish someone else touching their Facebook account can choose to have it deleted after they are gone.

The legacy contacts will be able to turn a deceased person’s Facebook profile into a kind of digital gravestone. The new account holder will be able to change the profile picture of the deceased person as well as respond to new friend requests, the WSJ reports. Depending on the deceased person’s wish, an archive of their Facebook account can also be made.

To select your legacy contact, go to Settings and choose Security, and Legacy Contact at the bottom of the page. The option will be available on the mobile apps as well. The company, however, is only allowing a person to select one contact, though it can be changed for as long as the person is alive. The company says that it is giving it some more thought and may implement changes in the years to come.

But legacy contact users won’t be able to edit something which is already posted, and they will also not be able to interfere with what the friend of the deceased person are writing the wall. “We gave this a lot of thought, and ultimately decided against it for this first version,” said spokeswoman Jodi Seth.

As we mentioned above, Facebook isn’t the only company worrying about their deceased users and their data. Google already allows users to select digital heirs for its Gmail, Drive, and several other services under “inactive account managers” tab.

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