Have you ever thought about what happens to your Facebook account when you pass away? What happens to all the pictures, videos, and memories you have shared? With a little planning, you can actually control what happens to your account after you are gone. The key is deciding now how you want things handled at that time.
If Facebook is made aware that a person has passed away, it’s their policy to memorialize the account.
According to Facebook, memorialized accounts are a place for friends and family to gather and share memories after a person has passed away.
Features of a memorialized account include:
- The word Remembering will be shown next to the person’s name on their profile
- Depending on the privacy settings of the account, friends can share memories on the memorialized Timeline
- Content the person shared (ex: photos, posts) stays on Facebook and is visible to the audience it was shared with
- Memorialized profiles don’t appear in public spaces such as in suggestions for People You May Know, ads or birthday reminders
- Login information is not shared with anyone, even if a legacy contact has been named. No one will be able to post as the deceased profile.
Besides memorializing the account, you do have other choices:
- Assign a legacy contact to manage your account – A legacy contact is someone you choose to manage your account after you pass away. They can pin a post to your timeline, respond to friend requests and update your profile picture. They cannot post as you or see any messages.
- Deactivate the account – Deactivating your account will disable your profile and remove your name and photo from most things you have shared on Facebook. Your name will still appear in friend’s lists along with any messages you have sent.
- Delete the account – The account and all images, videos, and posts will be deleted.
Here’s a short video to show you where to find the Facebook settings to set up your legacy contact or let your wishes known:
Now that you know your options, put in your requests for how you want things handled and choose a legacy contact if needed. Facebook offers a great FAQ section for just this topic.