Technological advancement is experiencing an all-time high nowadays due to the fact that the internet is more accessible to most people starting from ages eight onwards. Because of this, more people are now being hooked up and somewhat ‘obliged’ to make an internet profile. Needless to say, having at least one social networking site account such as a Facebook account is very necessary. Having this one ensures that people who know you can easily contact you whenever it is needed.
What Happens to the Online Social Accounts of the Deceased?
Some people are now having this thought: What will happen to my online social account when I die? Even though the fact remains that it won’t matter anymore once you die, it can be quite troublesome whenever your family tries to deactivate your account for such a reason. The obvious reason behind this one is that most of us usually consider passwords as personal and private property. However, it is not entirely impossible that your family cannot deactivate your accounts without the passwords. Deleting the deceased one’s online social accounts is necessary since chances are that the account will remain active even after death (or at least until the site isn’t taken down).
If you’re a family member of the deceased person and you want to inform the online social site about this, these are the things that you must do:
- If the deceased person has a Facebook account, you can either turn the deceased user’s account into a memorial page or close his or her account permanently. In order to do this, you must make sure that you’re a registered family member in the deceased person’s Facebook account before filling up either a memorialization request (for memorial page) or special request for the deceased person’s account (for deactivation) along with other documents as proof.
- In case of Gmail or Yahoo accounts, you may need to contact Google or Yahoo and request the deactivation of the deceased person’s account. In this case, you have to provide a death certificate along with the proof that you’re a family member or a relative of the deceased.
- For PayPal accounts, you need to provide a cover letter concerning the account removal request, the deceased person’s death certificate and proof that you are an authorized family member. Once done, PayPal will issue a check if in case that there is some balance left in the deceased person’s account.
In case of other social networking accounts such as Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn, contacting the customer support service is necessary before doing the request.