When we die, we all want to leave behind some kind of legacy. Now Facebook is making social media junkies' dreams come true by giving them the power of virtual immortality.
Facebook announced a new policy on Thursday that allows you to choose a "legacy contact," someone who will manage your account after your death. This person will have access to "pin a post on your Timeline," such as your funeral arrangements or any other farewell messages you want to send from beyond the grave.
The person responsible for your Facebook legacy will have the ability to change your profile picture and cover photo, and you also have the choice whether or not that person can download all your pictures and posts. They also can accept new friend request, even though this seems a bit creepy.
However, not all of your Facebook features will be granted to this contact. They will not be able to log in, pretending to be you or read your messages. They won't be able to edit previous posts you have made, remove tagged images or completely delete your account. And so you live on!
If you think this new profile policy is too morbid for you, you also have the choice to tell Facebook to delete your account after your death.
"By talking to people who have experienced loss, we realized there is more we can do to support those who are grieving and those who want a say in what happens to their account after death," Facebook writes in a blog post.
To manage your legacy contract, you must go to "Security" and select "Legacy Contract." You then have the option to either choose a friend to take over or request for profile deletion.
Before this policy, Facebook only had a "Memorialization" feature, which allows a family member or friend to inform the social network that their loved one has passed away and when. Memorializing the profile freezes the account, but did not include the current features that will now let you live on virtually.
