As smartphones and digital accounts become vaults containing details of users’ lives, from photos and personal files to financial services and subscriptions, a pressing question arises about the fate of this data in cases of death or loss of access to it.
Digital accounts are not automatically deleted in the absence of their owners, as the platforms’ policies vary regarding dealing with this situation. While companies require the submission of official documents allowing first-degree relatives to manage the account or retrieve its data, other companies retain data for many years in accordance with their internal policies.
To ensure that vital data is not lost, it is advisable to prepare an organized inventory of basic accounts and services, such as email, cloud storage, communication platforms, and financial services. In this context, it is cautioned against writing down passwords in traditional text files or sharing them via instant messaging applications, while relying on certified password managers that provide emergency access, as well as setting two-factor authentication options and naming a trusted person to take over data management when necessary.
In the same context, major digital platforms have developed special tools known as “digital legacy.” The “Facebook” and “Instagram” platforms allow the deceased user’s account to be converted into a memorial account, with the ability to designate a “recommended contact” to manage specific aspects of it in advance. For its part, Google provides the “Inactive Account Manager” tool, which enables the user to authorize trusted people to view specific data after a specific period of inactivity has passed.
Planning for digital legacy does not require revealing private passwords to others, but rather is limited to drawing a clear scenario for the fate of files, memories and accounts, with the need to update these arrangements regularly to keep pace with the creation of new accounts or changing login data.
