Facebook has introduced a new feature called Legacy Contacts, allowing users to have more control over their social media lives after their death.
The feature essentially lets users designate a person that can change the deceased's profile picture and add a memorial pin to the top of the profile. The legacy contact can also download an archive of the users photos and posts.
"Until now, when someone passed away, we offered a basic memorialized account which was viewable, but could not be managed by anyone," said Facebook in a statement. "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 is making it clear that this is not the same as handing over the users password to someone after they die. The legacy contact will not be able to access the deceased's account and make changes by posing as them. Facebook noted that for the first version of this feature further access was ruled out, and that adding more responsibilities could make the grieving process more difficult.
Until now, Facebook would simply freeze an account when it learned of a users death, also adding the word "Remembering" next to the person's name. Facebook also removed any ads from that persons profile page. This option, for "memorialized accounts" is still the default for when a person passes, however users can now change that to incorporate the legacy contacts feature.
To choose a legacy contact users simply need to go to their Settings, select "Security," then "Legacy Contact" at the bottom of the page. Users can only choose one person as a legacy contact. If a user does not choose a legacy contact in Facebook but does designate a digital heir in their will, Facebook will designate that person once they are notified about it.
The feature is currently only available in the U.S., however Facebook says that it will expand into other countries in the future.
A number of states have tried to create "digital will" laws in the past, while the U.S. government suggests that the best way is for users to create a will themselves. Facebook isn't the first social media company to offer features for the deceased. Google has offered an "Inactive Account Manager" since 2013. Having the controls available on Facebook, however, is a big step forward for people trying to figure out their digital lives after their passing.
