Social Media Shenanigans:Deceased's Social Media Accounts

On 18 August 2017, my mother passed away very suddenly. We had made lots of plans for that month, which we never got to fulfill. She was what we would call technologically challenged. Every new cellphone required my nieces to go through hours with her, teaching her how to use the device. In her 64 years, she had never touched a computer. Fortunately for us, during this grieving process, we didn’t have to deal any social media accounts because she didn’t have any. Any reminders that popped up were from our own accounts and not anything she had tagged us in.

Today, while families are reeling with the loss of loved ones, they also have to deal with the question of what to do with social media accounts of the deceased.

Will they be deleted automatically if inactive? How will you access them? Do you want them to remain open so that you can go back and meander through their accounts keeping memories alive? Like most people feel about making a will, this kind of discussion is something we think we won’t have to have for a long time to come. I think the last two years have taught us otherwise.

Most social media platforms have policies and processes in place to help you decide what to do. If you have had the discussion already, some platforms give you the option of assigning a legacy contact on your account. Here are the most common ways in which to deal with accounts, if you find yourself in the difficult situation of having to deal with a deceased social media account.

LinkedIn has a form that can be filled in which will allow you to request the account to be deactivated. Similarly, Pinterest will need an email with the relevant information including a copy of the death certificate, proof of your relationship to the deceased and possibly the letter of executorship.

Facebook allows an account to be ‘memorialized ‘ but this still requires a family member to initiate the process and inform them that your loved one has passed on. Facebook also allows a legacy contact to be nominated to make the process easier for the family. This must however be done before the unfortunate event of a death. In settings:

>Security

>Legacy Contact

>Type in the name of the Facebook friend you want to nominate

>Click ‘add’

>Your friend will receive notification that you have appointed him or her as your legacy contact

Instagram does not provide the same functionality of a legacy contact but can memorialize the account and hide it from public view.

Twitter will de-activate the deceased’s account as soon as someone reaches out to them and informs them of the death. You will need proof, most likely in the form of a death certificate and proof of relationship.

YouTube and Google have similar policies, as Google owns YouTube. They will require some information detailing who has passed away and will need proof, which will be a copy of the death certificate.

Snapchat offers none of these options and unless you know the login details, you cannot do anything about the deceased’s account.

With most social media platforms, one of the scariest things to have to face is the possibility of an account being hacked after a loved one has passed on. Leaving deceased’s social media accounts unattended also opens it up to the risk of information being stolen. Make sure you acquaint yourself with each platforms policies. If you decide to deactivate the deceased’s account, save some of the posts and copy some of the content so that you have those digital memories of your loved one available to peruse at a later stage.

Here are my final thoughts on this issue:

• Do have a plan and let your family know what you want done with your social media accounts in the event of your death

• Do appoint a legacy contact if the site or platform allows

• Do know that cybercriminals will still want information, even that of a deceased person