Facebook Now Lets You Choose What Happens To Your Account After You Die

Facebook has introduced a new feature today

that allows users to select a legacy contact,

who will be able to manage their account after

they pass away.

Once Facebook has been notified of a user

passing away, the social network will

‘memorialize’ the account and enable access

to the legacy contact who can manage the

profile.

Once everything is configured, this contact

will be able to announce a memorial service

(or share a personal message) on the top of the

Timeline, respond to new friend requests,

update profile and cover photos, and even

download an archive of photos, posts and

profile information that person shared on

Facebook.

Note that personal messages will be off limits

and the legacy contact is unable to log in as

the deceased.

The legacy contacts feature is currently rolling

out in the US to begin with and Facebook will

expand the rollout to more countries over

time.

If you’d rather not have someone access your

profile once you’ve passed away, you can

simply have Facebook delete your account

altogether.