Prepare for your death in real life, but also in digital life. In Japan, citizens are encouraged to “plan for their digital end of life.” As reported by the British magazine The Register, the government suggested that they start doing so to avoid inconvenience to their loved ones.
Some people who have lost a loved one have recently had difficulty canceling subscriptions made before their death, because they did not know their username or password.
Simplifying the “digital legacy”
Fearing, among other things, that more and more people will not be able to prevent a deceased loved one’s credit card from being charged for a service they can no longer consume, the Japanese government offers some tips to make this “digital inheritance” less complicated.
To start, it suggests its citizens make sure their family members can unlock their smartphones or computers in case of an emergency. It also encourages them to keep a list of their subscriptions, usernames and passwords in a document that their loved ones can access after their death.
Finally, the government advises them to use a service that allows them to designate a person who will have access to their smartphone and other accounts after their death. This is what several technology companies offer. Since 2015, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has allowed users to anticipate their death by designating a “legacy contact” during their lifetime, who will be able to manage their account after their death.
Since 2013, Google has also offered a kind of “digital will” that allows, among other things, the deletion of personal data after a period of inactivity.
Source: BFM TV
