What is a Facebook legacy contact?
Our Facebook account is so much a part of our daily lives it’s hard to imagine being apart from it. That’s the nature of dying – it means the total cessation of being, and finally logging off of Facebook, forever. With Facebook set to become the world’s largest online graveyard, here’s how to remain buried in it by using a legacy contact that will take care of your account.
Is your Facebook account a part of your digital legacy?
Facebook, like all your other social media accounts, is a snapshot of not just what you got up to on that boozy holiday in Magaluf but a document of your online life.
Your digital legacy is what you’ll leave behind online after you die. This ranges from the music, books, TV shows and films we ‘buy’ from Apple, Amazon Prime or consume on a subscription, all the way down to every single interaction you’ve had online. That’s a load of data, and you might want to take plan for it when you die.
How to create a Facebook Legacy Contact
For everything to go according to plan, you’ll need to sort out your Facebook legacy contact before you die. This is a crucial step.
You’ll also have to go through Facebook itself to get the contact set up – no one else can do it for you.
You can only choose a legacy contact from your list of Facebook friends. Yes, that’s right, you really can get Tim with the Pokemon bag from primary school to manage your Facebook account after you die. Though, we recommend choosing someone you trust, such as a family member.
Steps to creating a Facebook legacy contact:
- Go to your account’s Settings
- Click Manage Account
- Type in the name of the friend and click Add
- Let your friend know they’re now your legacy contact by clicking Send.
If you’d like to change or remove your legacy contact, then just go back into Manage Account and click Remove.
What can a legacy contact do once you die?
Once you die, your legacy contact can share any final messages on your behalf. This might include useful information such as any details about your funeral or memorial service.
A legacy contact can’t take a peek at your Facebook messages, though, and neither would your contact have any access to your uploads, groups or friends.
Do I have to create a Facebook legacy contact?
If you’d rather not go through with the whole legacy contact thing, you can simply arrange for your account to be permanently deleted after you die.
You can choose to have your account permanently deleted should you pass away. To do this:
- Go into Settings
- From the left side, click Your Facebook Information.
- Click Delete Your Account and Information and follow the on-screen instructions.
Visit the Facebook Help Centre here for more options.
Planning for your digital death
There’s more to death than funerals, taxes, endless paperwork and the complex probate process. That’s why we created our Digital Death page. Find out more on our Digital Death page.
Read our article on how the Google Inactive Account Manager might be helpful here
Do you have online privacy preferences for after you die? Read more about it here
