Who Operates Your Social Media Account After Death?

Who knows that your social media can be alive even after you die?

By Shibu Purushothaman

Thursday, September 28, 2017, 18:29

Social media plays a very important role in our lives, as it opens up the possibility of socializing with others, discovering new things, making new friends and expressing our opinion and thoughts.

Social media life is good when you manually operate it, but have you ever thought about the digital selves after you die?

What Do The Pics You Post Online Reveal About You?

In the terms of different social media platform, the answer depends upon the privacy policy introduced by that particular platform.

From Facebook to Twitter, here's who operates your social media account after death.

1. Facebook

Facebook is one among the most used social media networking sites by everyone. They have introduced a special set of laws for the deceased. You can either delete the account permanently or maintain it as a memorialized account. If you opt for running the memorialized account, the word "Remembering" is shown next to your name. Also, you need to send a legal contract with Facebook mentioning about the relationship and the name of the person who would be handling the account after death. Once the death certificate is provided, Facebook follows the instruction you have mentioned in your contract.

2. YouTube

YouTube allows a person to decide the future of their YouTube account. This is especially good for YouTubers who are making millions of money through their channels. You can send a legal document mentioning the name of the person who would be running the Channel after your death. If you don't opt for this option, YouTube can permanently close your account if it remains inactive for a certain period of time. You can give the access to a trusted person with Google's Inactive Account Manager.

3. Instagram

The policy of Instagram is much more similar to its parent company, Facebook. The account can be memorized or closed permanently, but it's not in your hand. The person reporting your death to the Instagram with death certificate can decide if the account needs to be deleted or memorized.

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4. Twitter

Another popular social media networking site is Twitter. There is no rule of addressing the death of the person to the platform, but the policy of the Twitter allows a member of the family to request the removal of account from the platform. On the request of the verified family members, the posts, pictures, and an account of the person can be removed. Yes, providing death certificate is a must.

5. Quora

Quora has grown into a popular platform in just a couple of years. This platform has a policy where it can turn your profile into a memorial page on request. You need to show death certificate of the person to do this.

What About The Username On The Social Media Account?

Every person on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platform carries a unique identity name (read as username). LinkedIn and Facebook allow others to claim your username while other social media platform like Instagram, Twitter, and Google don't share your username with others.

How Long Is Your Account Active After Death?

Your Facebook account will remain active until your death is reported by someone. LinkedIn can be closed as soon as the death is reported. Pinterest can never be deactivated while Twitter can be deactivated after 6 months. Google will deactivate your account as soon as death is reported to the company.

Do you think these privacy and policies introduced by social media platforms are an appropriate way to deal with when death sets you apart? Let us know.