The social media platform Facebook is now an important part of people’s daily lives. Photos, videos, personal memories and the stories of many moments are stored on it. But many people do not know what happens to a user’s Facebook account after their death. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, gives users two options: keeping the profile “memorialised”, that is, preserved as a memorial, or deleting it permanently.
What happens to a Facebook profile after death?
Under Facebook’s rules, a user can decide in advance what will happen to the account after their death. They can give an instruction for the profile to be permanently deleted after death. Otherwise, once Facebook learns of the death and the necessary process is complete, it can preserve the profile as memorialised.
What is in a memorialised profile?
When a dead person’s profile is memorialised, the word “Remembering” appears beside their name. This shows that the owner of the account is no longer alive. A profile of this kind has several features:
- Photos, posts and other content published on the profile earlier remain on Facebook, but are seen according to the privacy settings set before.
- Depending on the profile’s privacy settings, friends and family members can share memories there.
- The profile does not appear in “People You May Know” suggestions, advertisements or birthday reminders.
- No one can log in to the account.
- If no legacy contact has been named, the memorialised profile cannot be changed.
- If the profile of a page’s only admin is memorialised and a valid request is received, the page may be removed from Facebook. In the same way, if the profile of a group’s only admin is memorialised, the group may be suspended on the basis of a valid request.
Who will look after your memorialised profile?
A trusted person can be nominated as a “legacy contact” to look after the Facebook profile after death. This person can do certain things once the profile has been memorialised.
The legacy contact can:
- Add or change the cover photo on the profile.
- Pin an important tribute post to the top of the profile.
- Accept new friend requests on the dead person’s profile.
- Decide who can see or post tributes, where tributes are enabled.
- Download a copy of the content shared on Facebook, if that feature was turned on beforehand.
- Arrange for the profile to be deleted if necessary.
The legacy contact cannot, however, log in to the dead person’s account or use the account in their name.
The whole account can also be deleted after death
For those who do not want their personal information, photos, posts or other content to remain on Facebook after their death, there is the “Delete after death” option.
If this option has been chosen in advance, and Facebook begins deleting the account after receiving the proof it needs to confirm the death, the profile’s messages, photos, posts, comments, reactions and other information will be permanently deleted. Facebook advises users to tell family members or trusted people about this decision.
How to decide what happens to your profile
The setting can be changed from the Facebook app or website in a few steps.
- Click on your profile picture on Facebook.
- Choose “Settings” from “Settings & privacy”.
- Go to the “Meta account” section and choose “Manage account”.
- Choose “Manage” beside the profile whose settings you want to change.
- Enter the “Memorialization” option.
- Choose the option you prefer, “Memorialize profile” or “Delete after death”.
- Follow the instructions that come next to confirm the decision.
According to Meta, however, the new setting may not yet be available on every user’s account.
Special rules for minors
Under Facebook’s rules, users who are minors cannot choose a legacy contact. The age at which a user is no longer counted as a minor may differ by region.
If a minor chooses the “Delete after death” option, they will not be able to change the setting until they are counted as an adult.
Source: Facebook
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