A new Facebook feature allows users to designate who controls their account when they die.
What’s posted online lives forever, but what happens to a person’s social media profile after death?
Facebook changed its rules last week to give its users control over their accounts when they die.
The new feature, called “Legacy Contact,” allows users to designate a person to pin posts on their timelines, respond to friend requests and update profile pictures.
The designated person will not be able to post as the user.
A user can also decide to have his or her account deleted upon dying.
Mira Kuhar, a junior studying strategic communication, has experienced the problems that come up when handling the Facebook profile of a loved one who died.
“I know in the past it’s been a struggle,” Kuhar said. “My dog died, and he had a Facebook, and we had a hard time figuring out how to memorialize it.”
Facebook’s policies regarding profiles of deceased individuals have changed over time.
Prior to Thursday, the company allowed people to report the death of a friend or loved one by showing proof of the person’s death.
The profile would become “memorialized,” meaning the account would be frozen and unable to be changed or logged into.
If a person chooses a legacy contact, the user’s timeline will change to notify their Facebook friends of their death by adding “Remembering” to the front of their name.
Rachael Victoria, a freshman who has yet to declare a major, has mixed feelings about what she will do with her Facebook options.
“If I became famous then I would keep it, but not designate a legacy contact,” Victoria said. “But if I was just a regular person I would have it deleted.”
Some people find comfort in being able to look through a Facebook friend’s profile after he or she has died.
“I have a lot of friends who have passed who keep them up because that’s what the pictures are. It’s who you were,” said Franny Miller, a freshman studying media arts and studies.
Facebook introduced the legacy contact option exclusively in the U.S., but plans to expand it to other countries, according to a news release.
“We hope this work will help people experience loss with a greater sense of possibility, comfort and support,” according to Facebook’s news release.
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