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?
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