With the increasingly digitalized world we live in, our online presence is both larger and more important than ever. We make and leave behind an extensive digital footprint. But what happens to these “digital remains” when we pass away? Digital remains are the collection of data and other traces of online presence left behind after a person passes away. These can include personal files, social media profiles, email accounts, digital photos, videos, and other types of online content. As time has gone on, the topic of managing these digital remains has become an increasingly important question for both the corporations that run digital services like social media platforms, as well as for us as individuals.

The Complexities of Digital Remains and My own Personal Experience

Unlike physical possessions, digital remains are complicated to manage because of their intangible nature and the legal frameworks governing them. In many cases, online platforms and services have strict terms of use that prevent others from accessing accounts without proper authorization, even in the event of death. This poses a challenge for families trying to manage, memorialize, or close a loved one’s digital accounts, which I have run into first hand when my father passed away a few years ago. He was an avid facebook user and the question of what to do with his facebook account was not one that we had considered in all the chaos.

Luckily for us someone at Facebook must have thought about this issue already! Facebook has the option of converting someone’s Facebook page into a memorial page, allowing loved ones to make the profile of the person who has died into a digital shrine of sorts. This works by sending a request to Facebook to report that the owner of a certain profile has passed away and the site then either converts the profile into a memorial page or deletes the account depending on what the user themself had put as their preference in their profile. If the user hadn’t set any preference themself as was the case for my father the outcome is chosen by the person reporting the death. Facebook has a handy page explaining how this all works. Other companies provide similar services, in Google’s case they have an Inactive Account Manager, enabling users to set up guidelines for what should happen to their data if they become inactive for a specified period.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

The legal aspect of digital remains is still a gray area. The European Union currently does not have any set legislation in place regarding how a person’s digital remains should be dealt with though there is work being done to change that. For example my own home country of Sweden doesn’t make any legal distinction between material and immaterial possessions, but the laws are very vague in regards to things like social media accounts and how they should be dealt with after death.

Beyond the legal challenges, there are always ethical considerations with these sorts of things. It could be argued that accessing a deceased person’s digital accounts violates their privacy, even after death. On the other hand it can sometimes be a practical necessity to fulfill legal obligations like settling online debts, which was also a problem that my family and I ran into. Balancing the right to privacy with the need for digital estate management is a nuanced issue, requiring a clear understanding of both individual wishes and legal rights.

Preparing for the Digital Afterlife

If there is one thing this experience taught me it is to be proactive about this issue yourself, if only to give your loved ones an easier time navigating your digital footprint. Therefore I recommend to everyone reading to make sure that if you’re writing a will at some point to include your digital assets and specify what should happen to your various accounts. Make use of services like the aforementioned Google’s Inactive Account Manager to designate a trusted person who can manage your Google account if it becomes inactive. Lastly, make sure you keep a record. Document your online accounts, passwords, and subscriptions in a secure manner, such as using a password manager or a digital vault. This will make it easier for your loved ones to access and manage your digital remains according to your instructions.