Legacy Contact On Facebook
Posted by terrepruitt on August 13, 2018
I just received an e-mail from Facebook. My husband had mentioned the subject to me via Facebook messenger while he was not home so we couldn’t talk about it right then, and then, of course, I forgot about it. Then I received the e-mail. Your husband “has chosen you as his Facebook legacy contact”. Of course I don’t really know what that means because he just had typed “Facebook now lets people choose a legacy contact to manage their account if they die” (aside from the idea that we could talk about it). No information as to what that means. So, I thought I had better check it out because the e-mail made me wonder.
The e-mail says:
Hi Terre,
Your husband has chosen you as his legacy contact. This means that you’re currently selected to care for his profile after he passes away and his account is memorialized. This is something that you might want to talk about in person with your husband.A legacy contact can respond to new friend requests, update their profile picture and pin a post on the person’s timeline. A pinned post is often used to announce things to the community, like details for a service.
There are a few things about being a legacy contact that you should know:
• Legacy contacts aren’t able to log into memorialized accounts, post as
that person or see their messages.• Legacy contacts can’t change the privacy settings that were in place
before the account was memorialized.• The account must be memorialized in order for you to take any actions
as legacy contact.The best way to protect the account of a loved one who’s passed away is to request memorialization for the account as soon as possible. This will keep the account secure.
Learn how to set your own legacy contact.
Thanks,
The Facebook Team
Interesting, huh? Makes sense. I, unfortunately, am friends with a lot of people on Facebook that have died. It is not unfortunate that we were friends, it is unfortunate that they have died. Not sure what the “rule” is regarding those that have died prior to this “Legacy Contact” being put into place, but at this point “A legacy contact is someone you choose to look after your account if it’s memorialized.”
The information on Facebook regarding legacy contacts, clarifies that the legacy contact can pin a post, but that is only if the person allowed for post on their timeline. It also states that you – when setting your legacy contact – have the option of allowing them to download a copy of what you have shared. It also states that they can update your profile and cover picture. They can also request that your account be removed altogether.
In addition to the information in the e-mail, the information online says a legacy contact can’t remove or add new friends or add an additional legacy contact.
Facebook also states that they may add to the capabilities to a legacy contact in the future.
A legacy contact only gets access after an account has been memorialized. The information on Facebook about that says, “If you don’t choose to have your account permanently deleted, it will be memorialized if we become aware of your passing.”
Now, I don’t know how my husband found out about this because I didn’t know about it. I have never heard of it. So . . . as usually, I am sharing things with you that I learn about.
Did you know about this? Are you going to appoint a legacy contact?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
fallcorn1936 said
Why would you want to keep the account alive after the owner is dead. I don’t understand as he/she can no longer contribute. Dead is dead…
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terrepruitt said
A lot of people like to have the memory of the person. Just like you may keep photos of a deceased love one or friend, this can serve as the same thing. People can pop over there and look at photos that were posted and be reminded of things their loved one/friend thought was worthy of posting.
Plus often times people just like to pop over to the page and post on it. Sometimes someone is thinking of the person so they might just post that on the page. Could be something as simple as, “I miss you.” And others can chime in and share. Some surviving family members and friends appreciate that. Often times people post on birthdays and anniversaries. I feel that surviving family members (some anyway) appreciate know that their loved one is not forgotten.
Dead is dead, but people can still be present in the lives of the living and sometimes Facebook is a way for that to happen.
Since is it a person preference I think it is very good idea to discuss with your legacy contact whether or not you want the page to be memorialized or deleted.
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Frank Hubeny said
I didn’t know about it, but I rarely use facebook. I suppose I should set up a legacy contact for what it’s worth. My wordpress files are all stored on Google and on external flash drives simply because that is where I write the posts.
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terrepruitt said
If you want your Facebook page to live on after you do, then, yup a legacy contact is in order. I write my post in Notepad and then copy them into WordPress. I save a copy in a folder. Sometimes it is easier to search my copies than my blog when I am looking for something.
🙂
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indianeskitchen said
No my husband only knows how to play games..hahahaha
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terrepruitt said
🙂 You can appoint someone else, it doesn’t have to be your husband.
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