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Facebook Rolls Out More Features for Dead People

Facebook was designed for the living, but as the social network grew older, it also needed to decide what should happen when users die.

The feature underscores how Facebook wants to be the place for lifes most important events, even when that event is death.

Facebook has encouraged its users to share major life milestones on the platform, like when they get married, have a kid, or get a new job. When users die, they may leave behind accounts containing over a decade of memories, and they might not have specified how they want that archive to be maintained.Facebook has to balance the interests of grieving loved ones with the privacy of someone who is now dead, says Alice Ely, a product manager at Facebook.

In the past, anyone could memorialize an account, for example by sending Facebook a news story, and the process sometimes happened before the persons loved ones were ready.

Facebook doesnt allow users under 18 to appoint a legacy contact, but going forward parents who have lost their children can apply to be theirs. Previously, parents didnt have the option of changing anything on their childs profile after they passed away; it remained frozen in time.

Once a persons account is memorialized, the designated legacy contact can update their profile picture or cover photo and write a pinned post to their profile, for example to share information about a memorial service.

As a growing portion of life takes place online, digital platforms will face more choices about what to do with their users footprint when theyre gone.

Original article
Author: Wired

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