Your Digital After-Life
Ever wonder what happens to your e-mails and on-line posts after you die?
Internet users can expect service providers to handle their accounts on an individual basis after death. Every provider is different.
Following is an overview of the policies on the most popular sites:
Facebook's privacy policy states that your heirs can request that your account be deleted or “memorialized.” Memorialized profiles restrict profile access to confirmed friends and allow friends to write on the user’s Wall in remembrance. Anyone can request that it be memorialized by simply notifying Facebook and showing a death certificate or a news article that indicates your death.
Gmail's help documents outlines the steps to gain access, which include a death certificate, an email you have received from the account in question, and proof that you have legal authority over the estate.
Twitter's help documents tells us: "If we are notified that a Twitter user has passed away, we can remove their account or assist family members in saving a backup of their public Tweets". Your heirs need to provide their contact information, their relationship to the deceased user, the username of the account or a link to the profile page, and a link to the obituary. Twitter also offer survivors an archive of the user’s public Tweets.
YouTube's policy is pretty simple - fax or mail the representative's contact information, a copy of the death certificate, a copy of the document that gives the representative authority, and access to the account will be given.
Yahoo is a different story. Yahoo (which owns services like Flickr and Delicious) has a terms agreement that says there is "No Right of Survivorship" and that accounts are "Non-Transferable." Upon receipt of a copy of a death certificate, your account may be terminated and all contents permanently deleted. You might want to instruct your executor or personal representative to archive your Yahoo account before the death certificate is presented.
At the Law Office of Debra G. Simms, our probate staff is ready and able to assist you in protecting your loved one's on-line privacy after death. Contact us for a free consultation.
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