Memorial Accounts: A Good Alternative?

Everything you need to know about

Memorial accounts on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn. Memorial accounts on social media are a little-known but valuable option for preserving the digital legacy of a deceased loved one. Available on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, these memorial accounts offer a respectful alternative to permanently deleting an account. But what is a memorial account, how does it work, and how do you request one? Here's everything you need to know.

What is a memorial account on social media?

Memorial accounts are a safe and respectful way to pay tribute to the memory of a deceased person. They allow family and friends to keep the memory of their loved ones alive while preventing unauthorized access to the account. Key features of these accounts include:

• Restricted Access: No one can log in to a memorialized account, ensuring the profile's security.
• "In Memory of" Label: This label is displayed next to the deceased's name, clearly indicating that this is a memorialized account.
• Content Preservation: All content shared by the deceased user remains visible, allowing their memory to live on.
• Privacy: The memorialized account no longer appears in certain public areas, such as browse suggestions or birthday reminders.

Why choose a memorial account?

Memorializing an account is a better alternative to deleting an account entirely. It preserves the precious memories and interactions of a loved one on social media while ensuring the security of their digital identity.

For example, here are the benefits of memorializing an Instagram account:

1. Preserving the deceased's online presence: A memorialized account preserves all photos, videos, and profile information as they were before the person's death, allowing their friends and family to remember and celebrate their life.
2. Account security: When an account is memorialized, no one else can log in to the account. This prevents identity thieves from accessing and using the account for malicious purposes.
3. Respect for users: Instagram places the word "In memory of" next to the person's name on the memorialized account. This clearly indicates to other users that the person has passed away, which can help prevent misunderstandings or inappropriate interactions.
4. Edit protection: Once an account is memorialized, no one else can edit existing photos, posts, or profile information. This means that the content the person has chosen to share will remain unchanged.
5. Collective memory: Friends and family can continue to share memories on the deceased's memorial profile. This can help create a space for collective mourning and commemoration.

How to request a memorial account?

To memorialize an account, a specific form must be completed for each social network. This option is offered as an alternative to requesting account closure. Find out how to request it for Facebook here.

Have you heard of this solution? Memorial accounts are a valuable option for navigating the digital landscape after the loss of a loved one. They allow you to celebrate and preserve someone's digital legacy, while ensuring the security of their digital identity. This is one of the options Digital Rest recommends for social networks that offer it. Find out if you can request to memorialize an account here.

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