Facebook’s new “legacy contact” feature will let you hand over account access should you suddenly pass away
With so much of our lives spent online, you wouldn’t be overly cautious to start planning exactly what will happen to your internet life once you die. All those financial accounts, social networks, and email — like most things in life, they don’t automatically go with you in the event your life is tragically cut short.
A few months back, we told you guys exactly what you can do with your Google and/or Gmail account should you pass away or disappear, thanks to Google’s Inactive Account Manager. In that very same post, someone asked if Facebook had a similar feature and at the time, they didn’t. The closest thing Facebook offered was memorializing an account after death, locking out everyone and anyone from logging in. But starting today, Facebook announced a new feature heading to the social network allowing users to pick a special loved one or relative, dubbed a “legacy contact,” to manage their account should they die.
This person — who must have a Facebook account — would have access to accept friend requests, post updates, or change the profile picture of the recently deceased. Should you want your Facebook account promptly deleted upon death, Facebook now offers that option too.
Those that have been chosen as a legacy contact wont be notified until the account has been memorialized, something Facebook will only do with proper proof of someone’s passing (like an obituary). The option to add a legacy contact is rolling out first in the US and you can find it under your security settings right here.
Oh, and should you ever find yourself locked out of your account, you can also set a “Trusted Account” to help you gain back access to your Facebook account.