Digital inheritance: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:39, 8 August 2023

Revision as of 12:25, 11 August 2023

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===Password managers===

There are several services that securely store passwords, sending them to designated people after a user's death. Some of these send the customer an email from time to time, prompting to confirm that that person is still alive. Failure to respond to multiple emails makes the service provider assume that the person is deceased and they will disclose the passwords as previously requested. A company may require two verifiers who both must confirm the death, as well as providing a death certificate, before any passwords will be disclosed.<ref name="Duffy20122">{{Citecite web |title=Get Organized: Passing on Your Passwords |url=https://www.pcmag.com/archive/get-organized-passing-on-your-passwords-303572 |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=PCMAG |language=en}}</ref>

===Digital inheritance services===

There are services that facilitate passing social accounts and digital cryptocurrencies to the beneficiaries after one's passing. They allow users to connect their social accounts, file storage services, and bitcoin wallets to one "vault". The upside of such an approach is that no additional transfer of assets is necessary since transfer is happening on the connected service provider's side, thus keeping risks to the minimum.<ref>{{Citecite web |title=Digital Inheritance {{!}} OUCH! Newsletter January 2020 {{!}} SANS Security Awareness |url=https://www.sans.org/newsletters/ouch/digital-inheritance/ |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=www.sans.org}}</ref>

=== Social media===

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[[Twitter]] does not allow access to deceased user profiles. They will, however, deactivate an account for someone who is "authorized to act on the behalf of the estate, or with a verified immediate family member of the deceased" provides the user's death certificate and their own [[Identity document|government-issued ID]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contacting Twitter about a deceased family member's account |url=https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/contact-twitter-about-a-deceased-family-members-account |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=help.twitter.com |language=en}}</ref>

It is [[Facebook]]'s policy to automatically memorialize a profile if they are made a aware of a user's death. Only verified immediate family members of the deceased may request that the account be fully deleted.<ref name=":3">{{Citecite web |title=Reporting a deceased person or a Facebook account that needs to be memorialized. {{!}} Facebook Help Center |url=https://www.facebook.com/help/150486848354038/?helpref=related |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=www.facebook.com}}</ref> If a user would like to decide what happens to their account upon their death, they have two options. In account settings, they can choose to have their account automatically deleted after death, or set up a legacy contact who will have the ability to manage their memorialized page.<ref>{{Citecite web |title=What happens to you Facebook account if you pass away {{!}} Facebook Help Center |url=https://www.facebook.com/help/103897939701143/?helpref=related |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=www.facebook.com}}</ref> Facebook will not provide an account's login information to either a legacy contact or a family member.<ref name=":3">Facebook. (n.d.). ''How do I report a deceased person or an account on Facebook that needs to be memorialized?'' Retrieved December 17, 2021, from https://www.facebook.com/help/150486848354038/?helpref=related</ref>

Both Facebook and Twitter have been prey to hoax celebrity death announcements and memorial pages, as well as being entangled in legal battles for the rights to access a departed loved one's social profiles,<ref>{{Citecite web |title=After Death, a Struggle for Their Digital Memories (washingtonpost.com) |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58836-2005Feb2.html |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=www.washingtonpost.com}}</ref> leading to the need for official action and processes.

[[Google]]'s tool for navigating user death is the Inactive Account Manager. Using this feature, a user can specify a trusted contact that will receive a notification if the user's account has been inactive for a specified amount of time. The user can also decide which data they would like their trusted contact to receive download access to.<ref>{{Citecite web |title=About Inactive Account Manager - Google Account Help |url=https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546 |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=support.google.com}}</ref> If a user has not set up a trusted contact in Inactive Account Manager prior to their death, Google will work with families on a case-by-case basis if data from the deceased user's account is requested.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Submit a request regarding a deceased user's account - Google Account Help |url=https://support.google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/6357590?hl=en |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=support.google.com}}</ref>

[[Apple Inc.|Apple]] users can add a legacy contact to their Apple ID (this is a new feature included with iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, and macOS 12.1).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-12 |title=How to add a Legacy Contact for your Apple ID |url=https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212360 |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=Apple Support |language=en}}</ref> A legacy contact can access all data stored on a user's iCloud account for up to three years, after which the user's account is deleted. Legacy contacts cannot access any licensed media, in-app purchases, or payment and password information.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-27 |title=Data that a Legacy Contact can access |url=https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212362 |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=Apple Support |language=en}}</ref>