Have you ever thought about what happens to your online data when you pass away? What about your Facebook account with embarrassing pictures of 2011? What about your Friday Guilty Pleasure Spotify playlist? And the movies you bought via iTunes, what happens to them? Although all this data is part of us as a human being, we spend little time thinking about these questions. So let’s dive into this matter.
Let’s start with our social media accounts. All big social media companies offer the possibility to delete a person’s profile. To do this, you can submit a request by sending proof of the death of that person and proof of your relationship with that person (LinkedIn 2019; Facebook 2019; Twitter 2019). Another option that the big social media companies offer is appointing an ‘inactive manager’. This person gets access to your account in case it has been inactive for a long time (Google 2019).
Some people might already be aware of these options. However, they might be less informed about ownership of digital assets after death. Let’s say you bought a movie on iTunes. Although you would think your relatives own this movie after your death, you are wrong. When clicking the ‘buy movie’ button, you merely bought a non-transferable license to watch that movie (Martin Law n.d.).
Although this information about deleting accounts and the ownership of digital assets can be found online, it can be a hassle for the relatives to figure out all the accounts their loved one had. Everplans is a company that offers a solution to these matters. It allows you to make a list of ‘digital executors’ that will be able to use your login credentials for all services that you wrote down (Everplans 2019). It is a nifty tool, but the reason it exists in the first place is that law regarding digital assets has not been able to keep up with the pace of technological change. In many countries there is no clear legislation on how to address these matters. In Europe, however, the first steps towards better legislation have already been taken. New laws say that any personal information can only be used by the owner, for instance Google, for the reasons that the owner allowed. Think about using this data for restaurant recommendations or improved search engine results (Marr, 2017). But it’s not enough.
More attention should be paid to the collection of data after a person’s death. Because, without clear rules, you never know what you leave behind.
Everplans (2019) ‘About Everplans’, visited on 03-10-2019, on https://www.everplans.com/
Facebook (n.d.) ‘Reporting a deceased person’, visited on 03-10-2019, on https://www.facebook.com/help/408583372511972/
Google (2019) ‘About inactive account manager’, visited on 10-09-2019, on https://support.google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/6357590?hl=en
Linkedin (n.d.) ‘How to report the death of a LinkedIn member’, visited on 03-10-2019, on https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-report-death-linkedin-member-susie-sharp-/
Marr, B. (2017) ‘What Really Happens To Your (Big) Data After You Die?’, visited on 03-10-2019 on https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/02/01/what-really-happens-to-your-big-data-after-you-die/#45f504cb1184
Martin Law (n.d.) ‘What happens to your digital assets at death’, visited on 10-09-2019, on https://jbmartinlaw.com/inheriting-itunes-what-happens-to-your-digital-assets-at-death/
Twitter (n.d.) ‘How to contact Twitter about a deceased person’, visited on 03-10-2019, on https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/contact-twitter-about-a-deceased-family-members-account
Hi Nino, very interesting topic! I actually once asked myself that question and also researched it. I just wanted to add that apparently your pictures, emails etc. are not handed out to your families and friends after your death which might be a good thing as well 😉 Apart from that I definitely think that more regulation is needed.
I like the blog Nino, great writing and the subject is very interesting. Also companies like Everplans seem to dig into a real niche which could be profitable and socially relevant at the same time. One other interesting topic that relates to this one is the introduction of IT goods that truly belong to a person (think cryptocurrencies). These products are usually protected by passwords and usernames, but sometimes more nifty security measures like 2 factor authentication that belongs to a phone of a deceased person. I found another company that is looking into these complications in a innovative way, worth checking out!
https://passon.com/en
Hi Nino,
What an interesting article! It is remarkable to think no clear legislation has been created for this, as it is such a common issue nowadays. The case of Everplans really fascinate me, as I was assuming this is something a normal executor could do as well! Also I once heard that people just write down all their passwords in their testament, so I do am wondering what this additional input of Everplans is. On the other hand, apparently the need is there.
I’m guessing only time will tell how this problem is going to play out, nonetheless it is interesting to know how it is currently done!
Dear Nino,
Thank you for the interesting post. It is indeed a topic, where humans do not spend a lot of time thinking about. According to the dutch funeral insurer Lifetri, 81% of humans has not arranged anything for their post-death digital footprint. More surprising, 63% want that their relatives to delete their digital footprint. However, 59% of people do not want to be confronted again with the death of their dear relative, by the handling of their online footprint. I think that Everplans is a good initiative in order to avoid such confrontations.
Once again, thanks for your article.
With kind regards,
Allard de Witt WIjnen