Facebook recently announced a new feature, which is US only at the moment, where users can name friends or family members that will be able to look after an account once a person passes away.
In 2009, Facebook introduced the memorial feature, which allowed friends and family to notify Facebook of someones passing so they didn’t turn up in the suggestions section, no one can log into the account and contact information for the user is removed or if requested, the account can be deleted. The legacy contact means that details can be updated, and downloaded for safekeeping. Memorialised profiles allow friends to post their memories on the users wall, but a legacy contact would be able to post notifications.
It’s often said that we should remember that what we put online is there forever, and while most sites will just allow accounts to lapse and become dormant, it’s interesting to see how Facebook is dealing with this sensitive subject.
