Feb. 18--Thank you, Facebook, for addressing the social media elephant in the room. Death.
No one wants to talk about it, but shouldn't we? In the age of social media, it's more natural than ever for the words death and Facebook to appear in the same sentence.
We've all thought about it. What happens to our Facebook when we die? Previously, Facebook offered only a basic memorialized account that people could view but couldn't manage. Facebook said that, after talking to people who have experienced loss, it realized more could be done.
So Facebook launched a new feature that allows users to choose their legacy contact -- a trusted person who can manage an account when the user dies. After someone notifies Facebook of the death, Facebook will memorialize the account, and the legacy contact will be able to add a post at the top of the timeline, respond to new friend requests and update the profile picture and cover photo. Legacy contacts cannot log in as the person or read any private messages.
Here's how to get started. It's the same on mobile and desktop, although this is probably something you don't want to do in a hurry while on the go.
First, you should decide who your legacy contact will be. While it might seem natural to choose your spouse or partner, that might not be the best idea if you often travel together. The person you choose must be on Facebook, and you probably want someone with some level of digital savvy.
Then choose settings, security and scroll down to Legacy Contact at the bottom of the page. Hit edit.
Now follow the prompts. You'll start by selecting the Facebook friend you want to be your legacy contact.
The next part is weird. Facebook won't notify your legacy contact until your account is memorialized, but you can send them a message right away. Go ahead and send that message now; this seems like the kind of thing you want that person to know about while you are still alive.
You have the option to give your legacy contact the ability to download an archive of your Facebook activity, which includes posts, photos and profile information.
Finally, if having a legacy contact doesn't interest you, you can still check a box to have your account permanently deleted when Facebook is notified of your death.
An interesting question popped up while I was writing this: Couldn't you just give someone you trust your Facebook password? You could, although that's technically in violation of Facebook's terms of service. But to me that means you are putting a lot of trust in technology. This isn't the time you want your password to become locked.
Whatever your wishes, Facebook's legacy contact feature should fit any user's needs.
Have questions about social media? Tweet them to @scottkleinberg with hashtag #SoSocial. He might use yours in a future column.
