Facebook has rolled out a new feature which allows individuals to decide who controls their account after they die. Through their security settings, users can assign a "legacy contact," or steward, to manage their Facebook account.
"This has been an incredible opportunity to support the development of a product that can help millions of people," said Jed Brubaker, candidate in informatics at University of California, Irvine.
On behalf of the deceased account holder, the legacy contact is able to post an obituary or message, update profile pictures and cover photos, respond to new friend requests, and moderate the posting of condolences and memories from existing friends.
Facebook will also make changes to "memorialised" accounts, adding the word "remembering" before the person's name.
The alterations to the memorialised account are intended to reduce ambiguity and provide a more supportive environment for the community.
Brubaker's study advances postmortem solutions meeting the needs of both account holders and their survivors.
People's social media identities persist after they die, and even though no one is managing their profiles, others continue to use these spaces.
Facebook product developers took into consideration Brubaker's insights and adopted some of his recommendations in determining how best to improve the demoralisation experience and give people more after-death control over their accounts.
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