This week Google unveiled its Inactive Account Manager, a new feature which allows its members to indicate what they would like to happen to their accounts after a period of inactivity. Users can set their online data to self-destruct or assign their data to trusted loved ones who will be contacted after the period of inactivity with access to the account. This new feature has been likened to an online will and its about time Google address this issue of what happens to our online lives after death.
Our online lives often continue on after death because of the issues of access. Imagine how daunting it is be for someone to track down all your online accounts and profiles without personal knowledge of where you have created them. Obviously, for accounts that are shared with your significant other, access is not an issue but friends and families face a huge problem for personal accounts, especially for peripheral membership. Loved ones are often left to manage or close accounts on their own without much direction of how many and where they are.
One woman resorted to seeking help from ABC News to get her late husbands profile removed from Facebook. Facebook refused to provide her access to the account and would only agree to "memorialize" the account; in effect leaving it up but making it private to friends only. Even after sending Facebook her husband's death, birth, and marriage certificates, and even a portion of his will to prove he had died, only after ABC's involvement was his profile actually deleted.
Facebook's policy hasn't changed with the procedures for members who have died still being fairly complicated. It still opts to memorialize profiles of its deceased members, it will not provide password information, but now with the proper documentation Facebook will delete an account.
States are beginning to slowly catch up; in February, Virginia's legislature joined five other states by passing a law that gave parents of deceased minors access to their social media accounts.
HOW TO MANAGE YOUR ONLINE PROFILE AFTER DEATH
Preparing for this if the best solution. Tell your loved ones whether you want your profiled deleted and create a creating an inventory of online accounts and passwords for loved ones to use to make accessing your accounts easy. There are many online services that provide a solution for this problem. While it may be easy to sign up, register or join as a member on many websites, the challenge comes when loved ones want to delete those accounts. Make it as easy as possible by treating your online life as part of the estate planning process. Take a look at this great site that explores more of these issues: http://www.digitalpassing.com/about/
