Sunday Times 2
The Facebook will
Facebook will from today allow users to appoint an ‘online executor’ of their profile to decide what happens to it after they die.
The ‘Legacy Contact’ will be able to administer the page after you pass away by writing one last post and even approving new friend requests.
They will also be able to update your cover and profile photo meaning you have no say in what your final image will be, even if the image is embarrassing.
Facebook said that the feature will work in the same way as a real-life executor of a will, only for your online profile.
The Legacy Contact will be able to close down your profile, keep it frozen as a memorial or leave it as it is.
However it risks confusing people who may think that their loved one is still alive if they respond to a friend request.
Other issues which may arise are when family members cannot reach Legacy Contacts – or if they are ex-husbands or ex-wives with an axe to grind.
Facebook, which has 890 million users worldwide, said that it was responding to hundreds of thousands of requests for this kind of feature.
Like other social media companies it is trying to respect the wishes of the dead whilst also being sensitive to their families.
Facebook product manager Vanessa Callison-Burch said: ‘We heard from family members who wanted to post funeral information or download and preserve photos. ‘We realised there was more we could do.’ Until now when family or friends told Facebook that a user had died, the company verified the death and ‘memorialised’ the account.
This meant that it could be viewed but not edited, Miss Callison-Burch said.
But starting today, users choose a Legacy Contact from their friends list under the security settings menu and they can take over.
When somebody dies Facebook will put the tagline ‘Remembering’ over the user’s name and notify the appointed Legacy Contact.
© Daily Mail, London