Facebook is making it easier to plan for your online afterlife.
The
world’s biggest online social network said Thursday that it will now
let users pick someone who can manage their account after they die.
Previously, the accounts were “memorialized” after death, or locked so
that no one could log in.
But
Facebook says its users wanted more choice. Beginning in the US,
Facebook users can now pick a “legacy contact” to post on their page
after they die, respond to new friend requests and update their profile
picture and cover photo. Users can also have their accounts deleted
after their death, which was not possible before.
If
you want someone to manage your account after you die, click on the
upside-down triangle on the top right corner of your page and find
“security settings.” For US users there will be an option to edit your
legacy contact, who must be a Facebook user. But you don’t have to pick
someone else to manage your account. You can also check a box to
permanently delete your account when you die.
The
person you choose to manage your account won’t be notified of your
choice until your Facebook account is memorialized. But you can choose
to send them a message right away.
Accounts
are memorialized at the request of loved ones, who must provide proof
of the person’s death, such as an obituary. Facebook tries to ensure
that the account of the dead user doesn’t show up as a “suggested
friend” or in other ways that could upset the person’s loved ones.
Facebook,
which has nearly 1.4 billion users, won’t say how many accounts are
memorialized, though Facebook product manager Vanessa Callison-Burch
said there have been “hundreds of thousands” of requests from loved ones
to do so.
Posted by : Gizmeon
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