Truly, we don’t think about our digital legacy much. As a result, we fail to recognize the importance of organizing it before our time comes. For that reason, we’ll tell you all you need to know about digital legacy. Simultaneously, we’ll teach you how to set up your contacts on platforms offering legacy contact features.
What Is Digital Legacy?
The Digital Legacy Association defines digital legacy as the “available information about someone following their death.” Further, this entity states that your digital legacy is made up of the following:
Interactions you made on social media platformsData you created and uploadedYour accounts on different applications and Websites, blogs, and many othersData related to you that were uploaded by other people
To sum up, your digital legacy is everything you put on the web — pictures, messages with your friends, comments on YouTube videos — everything that’s under your name or has your name on them.
Who Is the Digital Legacy Association?
The Digital Legacy Association is the only professional entity created for taking care of digital assets and digital legacy. Mainly, it functions to ensure that people’s wishes are granted in both the physical and digital realms following their deaths. The association provides training resources, best practices, and organizes annual conferences. These resources are for informing the general public, governmental organizations, social networks, charities, and other organizations about proper ways to handle the digital legacy and digital assets of individuals and organizations.
How to Organize Your Digital Legacy
In the ideal world, organizing your digital legacy should be a walk in the park. And yet, very few platforms offer easy ways to organize your digital legacy. For instance, having full ownership of an account doesn’t mean you can assign legacy contacts on specific platforms. On the contrary, companies such as Apple and Facebook let you assign legacy contacts without tedious processes that involve court orders and long calls with support teams.
How to Assign Legacy Contacts on macOS 12.1
Using Apple products means you store data on iCloud. This includes backups of your contacts, photos, messages, device settings, apps, and many more. Before Apple released the Digital Legacy Program in December 2021, relatives of deceased iCloud users had no way to gain access to their deceased loved ones’ iCloud data without a court order. Unsurprisingly, even a court order didn’t guarantee access. Now that you have an easy way to arrange your digital legacy with Apple, here’s how to assign legacy contacts on macOS 12.1. If you chose “Print a Copy,” you will get a QR code with an alphanumeric code below it and some information that will be helpful to your legacy contact in the future. You can assign up to five legacy contacts. However, these contacts can opt out of your legacy contacts list, which automatically revokes all legacy access granted to them. Your legacy contacts can request access from Apple’s Digital Legacy web page.
How to Assign Legacy Contacts in iOS and iPadOS 15.2
How to Set Up Google Inactive Account Manager on Desktop
Google allows its users to share parts of their account’s data or notify an elected contact if once Google detects inactivity. Here’s how you can set up your Google account’s Inactive Account Manager: After reading what it means to have your inactive Google account deleted, click on the blue “Review Plan” button.
Microsoft’s Next of Kin Process
Microsoft has a process that can help your loved ones gain access to your Microsoft data after your death. Their Next of Kin Process will give your relatives access to your account data such as emails, attachments, contacts, on a physical drive. However, the Next of Kin Process isn’t as straightforward as Google’s Inactive Account Manager. For your next of kin to get a copy of your data with Microsoft, they have to provide the following to msrecord@microsoft.com:
Documentation verifying your death or incapacityProof of relationship: Next of kin, executor of benefactor of your estate, or power of attorney
Account Memorialization on Instagram
This may sound surprising, but Instagram doesn’t have the same legacy contact option as Facebook and Apple. Instead, Instagram only allows people to report your death to them to get your account memorialized or request its removal. Further, their report and request will only be granted after the person who reported your death provides appropriate documentation or links to an obituary or news article. They won’t get a copy of your Instagram data or get your Instagram account log-in details after their request is approved.
1. Are legacy contacts limited to immediate family members?
No. Facebook and Apple’s policy on assigning legacy contacts doesn’t limit your choices to your immediate family. As long as your contact is on your Facebook friend list, Family Sharing, or contacts, and they agree to become your legacy contact, you can add them even if they’re not a member of your immediate family.
2. Will documentation be required for your legacy contacts to gain access?
After your next of kin informs Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, or Instagram of your death with proper documentation, both platforms will review the request to memorialize your account. Once your account is memorialized, your contacts can access your data on platforms that have them as your legacy contacts. Do note that in Apple’s Digital Legacy Program, your legacy contact shall have the access key provided when you assigned them to get into your account.
3. Will providing documentation guarantee access?
Unfortunately, every documentation and request has to go under strict review. On top of that, those reviews don’t always end in the favor of people requesting access to your data after your death. This is to protect your interests and to make sure all documentation submitted by your next of kin, benefactors, or executors is valid.
