Facebook 'Legacy Contact' - Have You Heard Of This
I am not really sure how you will perceive this post, however I think this is a good idea from Facebook. Have you ever went on to your facebook and it has thrown up someone's birthday and telling you to say Happy Birthday only for you to realise that the person is no longer with us but their profile is still active.
As we all know, the loss of a loved one is very hard and probably one of the hardest things that gets pushed to the bottom of the pile for things to do is going through their social media profiles and cleaning them up.
So you can avoid all this, Facebook has what they call a Legacy System. Making use of this system allows one person who is truly trusted to look after the account and makes the profile page a memorial to their life.
Facebook 'Legacy Contact'
A 'Legacy Contact' is a particular friend or family member who you truly trust and have requested to look after your account should you not be around. This will give them limited access to your account.
If you like the idea of setting up a 'Legacy Contact' for your profile in Facebook then you will need to go to settings, under the "general" tab click on Manage Account. Once this is done you will be able to select the person you want as your 'Legacy Contact', this can only be done as long as you are friends with the person on Facebook. After finishing the set up then the person you have selected will receive an email from Facebook telling them that you have chosen them and what their requirements will be.
If, on the other hand you would not like for your profile to be memorialised then you can request that as soon as proof of your demise is given to Facebook, they delete your account. Again, the option to do this is available on the Manage Account tab.
Responsibility Of A 'Legacy Contact'
If you have chosen someone to be your 'Legacy Contact' or you have been chosen by someone to be their 'Legacy Contact' there are responsibilites that need to be fulfilled. First thing is submitting proof of the death to Facebook. This includes filling out a memorialisation form as well as including an obituary of the deceased. After the processing of the account, then it will be memorialised and access will be given to the 'Legacy Contact'. An account who has been memorialised has the word Remembering marked over the person's name. Any accounts who do not have a 'Legacy Contact' are not able to be modified.
Anyone who has been appointed as a 'Legacy Contact' cannot take over a memorialised account completely, They are able to change both the profile and cover photos, respond to the requests of friends and also pin a tribute post to the profile as well as downloading the person's facebook information to keep safely.
Now this last wee part made me have a wee giggle to myself and anyone who knows my sense of humour will understand why it made me laugh.
Apparently, the person who has been chosen to be the 'Legacy Contact' are not able to post anything as the deceased and neither can they send messages in their name.
Can you imagine the chaos and upset that could cause.
As I said at the beginning, I am not sure what people's views will be on this subject but I would love to hear what you think. Is it a good idea for Facebook or do you think it is rather a morbid idea?
Now, as I only have 8 minutes left before I turn into a pumpkin then I will bid you all a
Recent Comments
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Hi Cheryl, Thanks for sharing, that will be really helpful, good move on the part of Facebook.
Had a situation, Where a friend's wife passed, everyone was healing until her birthday came around, and those birthday wishes started flowing in.
All sorted but at the time, it was a shock, at the time.
Hi Alexander,
You're welcome and I know what you mean, I have a lady that I used to work beside and she was a total gem and it it so sad every year to see her birthday coming up in Facebook.
I think that this is a great idea to still be able to remember these people and know that they won't be forgotten but without the upset of people posting messages without maybe knowing.
Pleased that you managed to get it all sorted out. xxx
Thank you for this. I've been on FB for ten years and have a lot of photos, funny things, etc. I would want a legacy account, so I followed your instructions and set it up. This was great information.
A lot of people don't like to think about what happens when they die, but it's going to happen to all of us and it's good to have some arrangements for things like social media in place. Thanks! :-)
You are very welcome Wendy and glad to be of help to you Wendy.
I agree with you that a lot of people don't like to think about death and therefore have no plans in place. I think this is something that we should all perhaps think about for the future. xxx
I think its a great idea but the funeral homes won't like it because tbey don't run your obituary info indefinitely like facebook you have to spend money to see the obits info .
People can visit facebook years later and add info it will be a historical tribute , just think if facebook was around 100 years ago all the stories we would have today !
Thanks John, glad you liked the post but I am not sure how you would get round the obituary part.
That is so true, we could have had amazing stories if Facebook had been round years ago lol.
Time of death, how they died, where are they buried or if they were cremated, who came to the funeral and a guest or friend register for condolences well into the future would be nice !
Off the topic , for weeks now i have been getting double e-mails ?
Like the one you sent me i got another identical one 3 minutes later ?
Is anyone having this happening its very weird ?
Very well into the future John. You made me laugh though with what you all put there lol.
I don't know about the emails John as I turned mine off a long time ago. I used to stress myself out because I had so many and couldn't keep up with answering them and doing everything else as well.
Could just be a blip in the system. xxx
Wow turned off email your brave but yes there is a lot but what if the ceo wants you ha ha
They just have to pm me lol. I do have some of them still on but not them all as it was just far too much.
Yes John, I am a rebel llol. xxx
On the contrary FB are only ever interested in growing their data hooks, and spend a lot of time and money in researching ways of making these seem like good ideas and something that they are doing to help the community.
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Thanks a lot for sharing!
Wish you great success!
Bob
You are welcome Bob and same back to you.
Have a great weekend. xx