In today’s day and age, our lives are consistently revolving around our online presence. Social media and the evolving changes in online communication are here to stay, but what about after you pass?
As a memorial provider, we are always advising and assisting families on the steps that need to be taken after a loved one passes, as well as steps you can take today to prepare for the inevitable.
Part of this includes making sure your digital accounts can be accessed after you die.
Taking the following proactive steps for your digital footprint will make it easier for family members or friends to have access to your online platforms.
What is a Digital Footprint?
A digital footprint is described as a trail of data you leave behind while using the internet or any online platform. This can include social media, email accounts, banking statements, subscriptions, photos, videos, and any other personalized data stored on your device. Over time, this is all kept as a record of your online interactions and can be of high importance when you pass.
Reasons to Preserve Your Digital Footprint
Without realizing it, we can create thousands of accounts before we pass away. Any steps to make it easier for our loved ones to organize your information and download necessary files can make an impact.
By preserving memories, photos, payment data, passwords, and other essential information, you can pass on your online data to loved ones so that they don’t have to spend time searching for it after you are gone.
Organizing this information and having open discussions with those you trust can significantly ease the stress and burden on your family in the future. Having these conversations about social media accounts, photos, or passwords can ultimately help them manage your digital assets and honor your legacy how you would prefer it.
4 Steps to Secure Your Digital Life
To secure your digital data, take the necessary precautions now so you won’t have to worry about it in the future if you were to pass unexpectedly.
1. Designate an Heir for Passwords
This is one of the largest challenges for families when deciding how to secure their loved one’s digital life. Because they can no longer ask you about passwords or where they were stored, it makes it almost impossible to get into important documents, logins and other necessary data.
An example of this could be your iCloud, which requires a password and email for access to almost everything stored on your device. Therefore, without this information, memorable photos or financial data can be lost forever.
Be sure to include all your passwords, especially more important ones, such as your iCloud accounts, when discussing how you’d want your digital life stored with someone you trust. You can also have conversations about how you want your social media accounts to be preserved. Accounts on Facebook and Instagram for example have memorialization options such as a legacy contact which we will discuss further.
2. Talk With Those You Trust
Speaking to those you trust about your future wishes is a great way to start securing your digital life. These conversations inform your family and friends about how you’d want your social media presence, email accounts, and other online platforms to be kept, deleted, or memorialized.
Each platform has steps that can be taken before and after you or a loved one has passed. Below are some of the most common ones.
3. Create a Plan for Your Digital Assets
Creating a plan for all your digital assets now can save lots of stress for you or your family members in the future. In your plan, include your account information and passwords, how you would want your accounts handled (memorialized, deleted or transferred), who is your trusted digital “heir” and any specific further wishes for your loved ones.
4. Take Advantage of Data Backups
Regularly backing up your device’s data on cloud servers is an extremely important step. This secures photos, saved passwords, notes, contacts, and other online essentials under the same server account without risk of disappearance.
Start Preplanning Your Final Arrangements
Securing your digital life is just one task you can do to preplan your final arrangements. At Milano Monuments, we can also help you preplan your memorial to alleviate the emotional and financial burden that will be placed on your surviving loved ones. Connect with our team if you’re interested in getting started.
