Digital End Of Life
To Honour | To Remember | To Heal.
What happens to your digital life when you die?
People of all age groups have widely adopted mobile phones and the internet, making them essential parts of everyday life. It’s now commonplace to use these tools for communication, listening to music, banking, social media interactions, and even expressing condolences, replacing traditional methods like sending cards.
However, what happens to this digital footprint when someone passes away? Would your loved ones know how to access your online accounts and profiles?
This guide aims to provide valuable insights into handling digital assets after someone’s passing. It also emphasizes the importance of proactive planning to ensure that your digital legacy is managed according to your preferences. Whether it’s safeguarding cherished photos, ensuring the security of valuable digital assets like Bitcoin, or creating a memorial page for remembrance on platforms like Facebook.
A recent study revealed that only 1 in 10 individuals have prepared plans for their social media accounts in the event of their death. Many people overlook the importance of addressing their end-of-life wishes regarding their digital presence, yet these wishes are just as significant as those in the physical world. Proper management of digital legacies can offer solace to friends and family, turning what could be a source of stress into a source of comfort.
What is a digital legacy?
Most adults, teenagers anbd even some children have a mobile phone, tablet or computer, cometimes all three. A person’s digital legacy includes all digital information that they leave behind following their death. This can include interactions on social media and blogs as well as digital assets such as photos and video. These could include:
1. Email accounts
2. Online bank and credit card accounts
3. Social media accounts e.g. Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest
4. Subscription accounts e.g. Spotify, Apple iCloud storage
5. Music on iTunes
6. Online gaming accounts e.g. Xbox and PlayStation
7. Online trading accounts e.g. Amazon, eBay and PayPal
8. Cryptocurrencies e.g. Bitcoin or Ethereum
9. Intellectual properrty such as domain names, blog content, logos and ebooks.
Digital assets are generally considered to be digital media that comes with the right to use. So, for example, a collection of photographs on a cloud server would be considered a digital asset which someone can inherit, whereas music purchases from iTunes would not because iTunes only grants the buyer the rights to listen to the music for the duration of their life – the rights cannot be passed on. What executors or next of kin can and cannot do with timeslines, feeds and comments largely depends on the privacy policy of end of life policy of each online platform.
How to close digital accounts
After someone has died you will be granted a death certificate. It can be useful to have copies of this, as many companies require proof of death, quite rightly, before they will close accounts, or allow executors access to the accounts. The digital world in many areas replicates the physical world. You cannot simply close other people’s accounts without showing proof.
If you do not have any logins or passwords to digital accounts, contact the business with the death certificate. Companies should have a policy around how to deal with the accounts of the deceased, and this should enable you to close the accounts down.
Many companies are committed to user security and will not allow access to accounts to executors even with a death certificate. Google, for example, will not allow access to a Gmail account, though they will help you to close it down. If there is important information in that account you can appeal to Google to be allowed access, and this will be considered.
The different social media platforms have different policies as regards account closures. Generally, executors can close social media accounts of the deceased. Facebook and Instagram both offer memorial versions of a user account, where people can continue to post onto the deceased’s page. This page will only be visible to friends and family, and not appear in searches. myTrove has some links to detail about closing specific digital platforms. Use this link to myTrove (https://mytrove.co.nz/links).
If you are struggling with closing accounts, please ask for advice. Your probate solicitor will be able to help you, or contact Citizens Advice for will provide free information and support.
