No one wants to think about this, but it is something that is necessary. We all love Facebook and enjoy staying in touch with family, friends and long-lost friends we’ve become re-acquainted with. But, what happens after? You know, after, you’re gone. Yes, that. I know, it’s awful to even think about. And, honestly, kind of spooky. But let’s stop for a moment and really reflect on it.
That day has come and your family finds themselves in a very difficult time in life. Meanwhile, your friends, family and long-lost friends hear about your passing and begin posting on your Facebook profile. It suddenly becomes a memorial to you.
With a “Legacy” contact, you can select someone to be the one who has the capability of taking over your profile. They can create a post that gets pinned to the top of your profile, change your profile and cover image as well as respond to new and old friend requests. Additionally your profile name can be changed to something such as “Remembering {Your Name Here}” instead of it just being your name. This makes it clear and easy to understand when someone comes to your profile that this profile is now a memorial.
I had the very unfortunate first hand experience with having to help a close family member through this process. It is incredibly difficult. All of the things that one has to deal with when their loved one has passed away is enough without having to handle the burden of Facebook. Make this difficult time less difficult by taking the step now to tell Facebook who your “Legacy” contact is. Tip: let that person know you’re doing this before you do it! How confusing would it be to get a notification from Facebook without expecting it.
Learn more about the Legacy Contact here https://www.facebook.com/help/1568013990080948
To set your Legacy Contact simply:
- Tell the person you’re setting as the Legacy Contact that you’re going to do it
- Click on settings
- Security
- Legacy contact
If you are the Legacy contact and need to manage a memorialized account, learn more about how to do that here https://www.facebook.com/help/828408313868251
This is a serious and sad task to do, but it can make things not so hard for your loved ones when the time comes. Take a moment, alert your Legacy Contact and then tell Facebook who it is. It only takes a moment and once it has been done you can forget about it!