Credit: www.frankmedia.com.au
We spend a lot of our time online these days. An IAB report from November 2013 revealed that on average, Australians are spending up to one day a week engaging with digital media including activities such as surfing the web, spending time on social networking sites, gaming, reading news and watching video.
What happens to our online accounts when we stop using them or are no longer around to engage with them?
The reality is unless we delete our accounts, our data, profiles and activity histories remain with the companies that we signed up to. Sometimes, these histories resurface again in less than positive circumstances.
Whether you are organising your digital estate, planning what will happen to your online life when you are no longer around or you are in the unfortunate situation of managing someone else’s digital afterlife, it’s important to know the terms and conditions and account closure procedures of the companies offering online services such as social networking or email.
Below is a line up of the top 20 social networking companies by number of users in Australia and what their policies are when someone in their community dies. Not all providers are clear on their process and in some cases, information on this topic is non-existant. Where this is the case, contact recommendations have been suggested to get in touch directly.
If you are planning a digital will, it is worth thinking about password management options where you can provide account access to next of kin, family or nominated friends considering there are several accounts which don’t offer a straightforward process for account closure after death. These may also be useful if you’d like to share your online data with others when you are no longer around. With the exception of Google via Google Inactive Account Manager, no other company listed here offers a straightforward means of data transfer to next of kin or nominated representative after death.
It is stated where Away For A Bit has asked social network companies to provide additional policy/process information and this list will be updated as details are made available.
#1 Facebook
Facebook offers three options for family or friends managing the account of someone who has died. There’s Facebook memorialisation (what is memorialisation?) that friends, family or next of kin to the deceased can request. Next of kin or an immediate family member can ask for an account to be closed. The memorialisation request can be made via an online form while family members wishing to delete an account need to provide evidence of their relationship to the deceased and contact Facebook directly.
Facebook has also set up Legacy Contact, a service that allows the account holder to nominate someone to look after their account in certain ways after they die. For instance, a nominated contact can place a pinned post on the deceased’s profile, respond to friend requests and update profile pictures. They can also download a copy of the user’s account data if the owner of the account checked this option in the set up of Legacy Contact.
Facebook do state that they will consider requests to obtain content from a deceased person’s account (for instance, if the user hasn’t set up Legacy Contact) but such requests generally require a court action.
#2 YouTube
YouTube is part of Google and places a lot of emphasis on the privacy of the user. The company offers a two stage process for someone wishing to gain access to content from a deceased person’s account requiring the person making the request to identify their relationship to the deceased and provide a death certificate. Google warns that this process may take some months.
It’s not clear how someone can request account deletion for a deceased user. Surprisingly, this information is not included on Google help pages. A request has been made to Google by Away For A Bit to provide guidance on how next of kin can delete the account of someone who has died. Update posted 25/11/14 – it is possible with a court order to compel Google to deactivate an account (G+, blogger, YouTube, etc…). This can be done by contacting Google directly and following these instructions.
In 2013 Google introduced Google Inactive Account Manager, a service in which users state how would like their data to be provided to nominated contacts in the event that their account becomes inactive. This includes how users would like to share their YouTube content. (What’s Google Inactive Account Manager?)
#3 WordPress
This blogging platform does not specify its policy for how it responds to requests from next of kin looking to access or close the account of one of its bloggers. It does infer however that it will consider options of marking a blog as private or even transferring ownership. WordPress provides a form asking the family and/or estate to give a description of the situation and desired actions.
#4 Instagram
Instagram’s policy is to remove the profile of a deceased user once they are informed although the form states that you can also memorialise an account. What memorialisation means is not clear. Away For A Bit has asked for clarification on what Instagram memorialisation means.
To close an account, Instagram asks for evidence of a person’s death by means of documentation such as an obituary, news article or death certificate and asks for proof of authority from the requester as someone who can legally ask on behalf of the estate.
#5 Tumblr
Tumblr’s policy around deletion of content is that: “On termination of your Account, or upon your deletion of particular pieces of Subscriber Content from the Services, Tumblr shall make reasonable efforts to make such Subscriber Content inaccessible and cease use of it; however, you acknowledge and agree that: (a) removed Subscriber Content may persist in caches or backups for a reasonable period of time and (b) copies of or references to the Subscriber Content may not be entirely removed (due to the nature of reblogging, for example).”
There’s no clear policy outlined however on the site if you are trying to close the account on behalf of someone who has died. One way to contact the company is to go to the support link at the bottom left of the homepage and post a request to close an account. A request has been made to Tumblr by Away For A Bit to provide guidance on how next of kin can delete the account of someone who has died.
#6 LinkedIn
LinkedIn provides a form that family members, colleagues or friends of a deceased person can fill in to disclose the news of their death and ask for an account to be closed. The form asks for information such as evidence of the death, the company that the deceased most recently worked at and the submitter’s relationship with the person who has died.
#7 Twitter
Twitter offers the option for the Twitter account of a deceased person to be deactivated when a request is made by someone who is authorised to act on behalf of the estate or alternatively, by a verified immediate family member. Twitter provides a list of documentation that needs to be mailed to them for this process to happen. In certain circumstances, Twitter will also honour requests to remove images of deceased members. To do so, they suggest contacting privacy@twitter.com.
#8 BlogSpot
Another blog publishing service, this time owned by Google. Like YouTube, the policy falls under Google guidelines and places a lot of emphasis on the privacy of the user. The company offers a two stage process for someone wishing to gain access to content from a deceased person’s account requiring the person making the request to identify their relationship to the deceased and provide a death certificate. Google warns that this process may take some months.
It’s not clear how someone can request the account deletion of a deceased user. Surprisingly, this information is not included on Google help pages. A request has been made to Google by Away For A Bit to provide guidance on how next of kin can delete the account of someone who has died. Update posted 25/11/14 – it is possible with a court order to compel Google to deactivate an account (G+, blogger, YouTube, etc…). This can be done by contacting Google directly and following these instructions.
In 2013 Google introduced Google Inactive Account Manager, a service in which users state how would like their data to be provided to nominated contacts in the event that their account becomes inactive. This includes how users would like to share their blog content. (What’s Google Inactive Account Manager?)
#9 WhatsApp
WhatsApp cannot access or delete an account for an account holder. To delete an account, a user should follow these instructions. The user will need access to the device where WhatsApp is installed as well as knowledge of the phone number the account is linked to.
WhatsApp messages are automatically backed up and saved to the device (where it is installed)on a daily basis or saved periodically on Google Drive. Follow these instructions to manually export data from your account.
#10 TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor currently only offers information on how to close an account by a member which requires username and password, likely not information known by someone trying to close an account on behalf of someone deceased. If a member closes their account, their reviews and other content is removed from the site although forum posts are not removed in bulk to avoid disturbing the conversation flows. It may be that the same policy applies for deceased accounts.
A request has been made to Tripadvisor for policy on how to delete the account of someone who has died by Away For A Bit. Update shortly.
#11 Snapchat
In theory, photos that you post to friends on this service self destruct in 10 seconds. The reality is that these photos can be found again. They aren’t actually deleted, just hidden in the phone.
Snapchat doesn’t clearly state on its site what the company’s policy is regarding deceased accounts. Members can delete accounts but this is only an option for a next of kin or estate representative if they knew the username and password of the deceased’s account. An option is to send a note directly to the Snapchat support team. A request has been made to Snapchat to clarify its policy.
#12 Tinder
Tinder doesn’t specify how to close an account or cancel a subscription on behalf of someone else in the event of death. A request has been made to the company on their policies for deceased member accounts by Away For A Bit. Tinder suggests contacting help@gotinder.com for enquiries not covered on its FAQ page. Update from Tinder posted 25/11/14 – This request has to come from a family member directly. If they have access to his phone or Facebook account, they can also delete his Tinder account themselves by going to Settings, App Settings, and hitting Delete account.
#13 Yelp
Yelp currently only offers public information on how to close an account by a member which requires username and password, likely not information known by someone trying to close an account on behalf of someone deceased. A request has been made to Yelp for more information by Away For A Bit.
#14 Flickr
Flickr was acquired by Yahoo in 2005 and follows Yahoo’s policy with regards to transfer of content and account closure. In Yahoo’s terms and conditions, it states that there is:
“No Right of Survivorship and Non-Transferability. You agree that your Yahoo account is non-transferable and any rights to your Yahoo ID or contents within your account terminate upon your death. Upon receipt of a copy of a death certificate, your account may be terminated and all contents therein permanently deleted.”
Yahoo outlines its process for account closure and contact options on a help page requesting the Yahoo ID of the deceased, a copy of the death certificate and a document certifying that the requester is a legitimate representative for the deceased.
A Flickr forum thread also offers a direct line to the compliance team in the US to help with requests.
#15 Pinterest
Pinterest states categorically that its focus is to protect users’ privacy and will not share account information. However, they will deactivate a deceased person’s Pinterest account if a family member gets in touch. The company asks that requests are made to care@pinterest.com with supporting information such as evidence of the account holder’s death and documentation to show how the requestor is related to the deceased.
#16 Reddit
Reddit only offers information for users to delete their accounts which they can do by logging into www.reddit.com and deleting their account under preferences. A request has been made to Reddit by Away For A Bit to provide guidance on how the next of kin can delete the account of someone who has died.
#17 MySpace
MySpace, MySpace, MySpace… As it turns out, it’s very difficult for an early member of MySpace to delete their account let alone that of someone who is deceased. This article sums the situation up beautifully. As an FYI, MySpace suggests this, this and finally this as a means to delete a profile. This is not helpful for someone who is trying to delete the profile of someone who is deceased if they don’t know their log-in details. No contact details are offered on site. A request has been made to MySpace by Away For A Bit to provide guidance on how the next of kin can delete the account of someone who has died.
#18 Google+
Google places a lot of emphasis on the privacy of the user. The company offers a two stage process for someone wishing to gain access to content from a deceased person’s account which requires the person making the request to identify their relationship to the deceased and provide a death certificate for the deceased. Google warns that this process may take some months.
It’s not clear how someone can request the account deletion of a deceased user. Update posted 25/11/14 – it is possible with a court order to compel Google to deactivate an account (G+, blogger, YouTube, etc…). This can be done by contacting Google directly and following these instructions.
In 2013, Google introduced Google Inactive Account Manager in which users state how would like their data to be provided to their nominated contacts. This includes Google+ data. (What’s Google Inactive Account Manager?)
#19 StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon offers information for users to delete their account and profile information but to do so requires log in details such as username and password. StumbleUpon answered sympathetically, helpfully and promptly to queries for additional information on how they would manage account closure for someone who has died. Here’s what the company had to say:
Update posted 25/11/14 – StumbleUpon accounts are private to their owner, access by username and password (that is known only to the account holder). Under our Terms of Service we undertake not to disclose any data or details relating to a personal account to anyone other than the owner. We are occasionally contacted by the family of members who are now deceased, and we are always sympathetic to the circumstances, and will work with the family of the deceased to verify that the request is legitimate, and to achieve a satisfactory conclusion. Anyone finding themselves in this situation should contact our Account Support team at http://www.stumbleupon.com/feedback. Update posted 26/11/14 re: information required when making a request – We deal with each case individually, and sympathetically, and do not have a set list of information to be provided. Generally the family member will provide more than enough information in their initial contact for us to be able to assess the validity of the request. A basic item of information will be to provide the account username, ‘real name’ and details of any email accounts or other social network accounts that may be ‘linked’. Over and above that, we may seek verification of one or two account details that would normally be known only to the account owner, or someone close to them.
#20 FourSquare
FourSquare will work with an immediate family member or verified representative of the deceased’s estate to delete the profile of someone who has died. To do so, they ask for a list of information including user ID, relationship of requestor to the deceased and proof of death sending details via email to privacy@foursquare.com. They will not provide account access.
#21 Digg
Digg is not clear on its policy for deleting accounts of deceased users or their historical data on the website when requests are made by family or next of kin. However, Digg’s terms and conditions state that:
“If you terminate and delete your Account, any association between your Account and information stored by, or in connection with, Digg will no longer be accessible. However, given the nature of sharing using Digg, any public activity on your Account prior to deletion will remain stored on our servers and will remain accessible to the public. If you would like us to remove such stored information, please send us an email at support@digg.com.”
A user with log-in details can delete their account by visiting www.digg.com/settings. A request for clarification has been made to Digg by Away For A Bit to provide guidance on how next of kin can delete the account of someone who has died and what their policy is around data deletion.
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