Death and the Internet

In its early days, Facebook used to delete profiles of dead people, but does not anymore.[9] In October 2009, the company introduced "memorial pages" in response to multiple user requests related to the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.[10][9] After receiving a proof of death via a special form, the profile would be converted into a tribute page with minimal personal details, where friends and family members could share their grief.[9]

In February 2015, Facebook allowed users to appoint a friend or family member as a "legacy contact" with the rights to manage their page after death.[11] It also gave Facebook users an option to have their account permanently deleted when they die.[12]

As of January 2019, all 3 options were active.[13]

In 2013, BuzzFeed criticized Facebook for the lack of control over memorialization that resulted in a "Facebook death" prank aimed at locking users out of their own accounts.[14][15]

In 2017, Reuters reported that a German court rejected a mother's demand to access her deceased daughter's memorialized account stating that the right to private telecommunications outweighed the right to inheritance.[16] In July 2018, Dubai's DIFC Courts ruling clarified that Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts should be bequeathed in legally binding will.[17]

Social media networks have also been criticized for not responding to relatives' requests to alter information on memorialized accounts.[18] Another criticism is that Facebook users often are unaware that their content is ultimately owned not by them, but by Facebook.[19]

Dropbox determines inactive accounts by looking at sign-ins, file shares, and file activity over the previous 12 months. Once an account is determined inactive, Dropbox deletes the files on the account.[20] To request access to the account of a deceased person, heirs are required to send appropriate documents by physical mail.[21]

In April 2013, Google announced the creation of the 'Inactive Account Manager', which allows users of Google services to set up a process in which ownership and control of inactive accounts is transferred to a delegated user.[22][23][24]

Google also allows users to submit a range of requests regarding accounts belonging to deceased users.[5] Google works with immediate family members and representatives to close online accounts in some cases once a user is known to be deceased, and in certain circumstances may also provide content from a deceased user's account.[25]

Until 2010, Twitter (launched in July 2006) did not have a policy on handling deceased user accounts, and simply deleted timelines of deceased users.[26] In August 2010, Twitter allowed memorialization of accounts upon request from family members, and also provided them with an option of either deleting the account or obtaining a permanent backup of the deceased user's public tweets.[27]

In 2014, Twitter updated its policy to include an option to delete deceased user photographs. This policy was implemented after multiple Twitter trolls sent Zelda Williams, daughter of Robin Williams, photoshopped images of her father.[28]

As of January 2019, the only option that Twitter offered for the accounts of dead people was account deactivation. Previously published content is not removed. To deactivate an account Twitter requires an immediate family member to present a copy of their ID and a death certificate of the deceased.[13] Twitter specified that it does not provide account access to anyone,[29] but does allow people having account login information to continue posting. A prominent example is Roger Ebert's account maintained by his wife Chaz.[30][31]

In 2012, The Next Web columnist Martin Bryant noticed that since Twitter, unlike Facebook, did not have a "one account per real person" emphasis, memorializing accounts presented a difficulty to the service.[32] He also criticized the service for the lack of control over hacking of such accounts and disapproved the practice of passing dead people's usernames to new owners after a certain period of inactivity.[32]

In 2013, Variety ran a feature about Cory Monteith's Twitter account that had 1.5 million followers at the moment on his death and gained almost 1 million new followers afterwards. Monteith's fans also launched #DontDeleteCorysTwitter campaign.[33] As of January 2019, the celebrity's account had 1.64 million followers.[34]

Various media reported awkward incidents related to automatic posting and account hacking.[35][31]

iCloud and iTunes accounts are "non transferable" since the content is not owned — users only have a licence to access it.[36]

Users who have made at least several hundred edits or are otherwise known for substantial contributions to Wikipedia can be noted at a central memorial page. Wikipedia user pages are ordinarily fully edit-protected after the user has died, to prevent vandalism.

YouTube grants access to accounts of deceased persons under certain conditions.[37] It is one of the data options that one can select to give access to a trusted contact with Google's Inactive Account Manager.[38]

As of the COVID-19 pandemic, Instagram has notified its users of a delay in time of reviewing reports of deceased users due to the limited staff the pandemic has caused.[39] Users that submit a report on a deceased user on Instagram can either memorialize the account or remove it from Instagram's platform.[39] Through memorializing the account, Instagram secures and protects a platform of a deceased user, but per their policy, they do not supply any of the login credentials to the account.[40] For both memorializing or removing a deceased users account, a verified user needs to submit a tangible document that shows proof of death of the user.[39] However, to fully remove an account, the user must be a close or direct family member to the deceased person, and show proof of credibility as well.[39]

Microsoft has several policies in place when dealing with a deceased user's account.

Per Microsoft's policies, they do not supply any of the login credentials to a deceased user's Microsoft account.[41] A user does not have to contact or notify Microsoft of the deceased user, as the related user is able to close the account themselves. At default, Microsoft removes accounts after 2 years of inactivity.[42] If the user does not have access to the deceased user's account, Microsoft recommends that the user deletes all bank accounts linked to the one of the diseased to ensure no subscriptions are still going through.[41] If the user wants to request to gain access to the deceased user's account, a court order or a subpoena has to be provided to Microsoft, but does not guarantee access to the deceased user's account.[41]

For users that live in Germany, more documentation is needed to gain access of a deceased user's account, including the deceased user's death certificate, a form of ID, and a documentation of consent from the deceased.[41] The requesting user needs to provide a form of ID as well.[41]