Unless you make sure that family members have access to your digital data, it could disappear with you, writes GENEVIEVE CARBERY
SHOEBOXES OF love letters and fading family photo albums; these were once the disjointed remnants of life passed on to relatives after death. With the growth of cloud computing, tomorrow’s memories are going digital and being stored remotely online rather than on paper or personal computer hard-drives.
An increasingly detailed array of every aspect of life is left behind on the cloud after death: from moaning Monday morning mails to amorous messages, from budget flight bookings to a dental appointment reminder, from a photo posted to announce the birth of a baby to the “liking” of the latest viral video.
Usually the communications are through free web-based services such as e-mail (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail), social networking (Facebook and Twitter) and free photo and document storage (Flickr, Picasa, Google Docs).
Once the user dies, however, the passwords generally are lost and all of this highly private information can remain in the hands of the web-based service rather than the relatives.
So what are people’s rights and how do they prepare to have this data deleted for privacy or handed over as inheritance?
The use of such services is based on a contract between the person and a company that comes to an end upon death, explains Eoin O’Dell, a senior law lecturer at Trinity College Dublin.
“The scary thing is that most of these companies take the view that when you give them the data, it’s theirs,” he says.
Digital death policies are in their infancy and most online companies don’t have them. However, some of the major companies have policies that can prove difficult to circumvent.
One of the earliest examples of conflict was a case taken by the family of a US marine, Justin Ellsworth, who was killed in Iraq in 2004. His family took Yahoo! to court and eventually got around its policy of not granting family access to e-mail. Its policy continues today however.
Gmail will give access in rare circumstances in a lengthy process that involves providing proof of death and possibly a court order.
Facebook offers to “memorialise” the account of the deceased, which allows existing friends to view the page and leave messages on their wall.
The use of memorialisation has brought about a newer model of grieving, says Dr Elaine Kasket, a psychologist at London Metropolitan University. In the past, people moved on to obtain closure but this form means that people can grieve and continue a form of relationship with the deceased, she says.
This happened in an ad-hoc way on the fan page of young Irish boxer Darren Sutherland who died suddenly in September 2009. Messages were left on his Facebook wall shortly after news of his death broke and hundreds of messages continue to be left, particularly on his anniversary and birthday.
The posting of wall messages after death is not pathological, but is a healthy part of bereavement, Kasket says.
Digital assets are not just sentimental. Assets of tangible monetary value are increasingly left behind online.
These assets can range from cash held in electronic money transfer company Paypal to virtual assets with monetary value such as real estate in virtual world Second Life.
Despite the newness of digital assets, O’Dell says new legislation is not needed and any changes will develop through case law. “It is still in the basic legal contracts. So if virtual property has a value, companies will eventually have to recognise that. There is nothing new under the virtual sun,” he says.
While passing on digital assets is rare in Ireland, some people have begun to leave details of online betting accounts and online trading platforms, says Dublin solicitor Mark Newman whose practice area includes digital media.
Access to online-only banking and trading accounts tend to be straightforward because companies will tend to allow family access once they are notified and given proof of death, he says.
Unless the deceased leaves a clue in their will, the family may not even know these paperless accounts exist, potentially leaving thousands of euro unclaimed, he says.
For both sentimental and tangible assets, the common workaround solution emerging is leaving behind a record of account names and passwords.
Simply putting passwords directly into the will is not recommended by Newman because the probate becomes a public document after a person dies. He suggests instead that account and password details should be held with an online digital legacy solution company with a note in the will telling the executer to contact the company.
US-based Entrustet, which has clients in more than 25 countries, offers such a service. Co-founder Nathan Lustig says user names and passwords held are encrypted and are not accessed until the person dies.
However, the practicalities of leaving passwords does not conform with rules of contracts entered with service operators, many of whom say there is a breach of usage if you give passwords to third parties, warns O’Dell.
Death policies may become more uniform with the launch of major cloud storage solutions by such companies as Apple, Amazon and Microsoft.
However, until a critical mass of the internet generation begins to pass away, the rules and rights probably will remain unclear.
A little thought and preparation could not only protect a person’s privacy, but could open up to descendants a unique, intimate and incredibly detailed record of their deceased relative’s life.
Digital legacy policies
Just a handful of online companies have death policies that generally require proof of death from executors to take action. Here are the policies of some of the major players:
Gmail (and Picasa) may grant access to account content “in rare cases” but warns that it is “a lengthy process” that may require a court order.
Yahoo! (and Flickr) policy says the account is not transferable and rights to the contents terminate upon death.
Microsoft will not allow direct access to the e-mail account but may provide a copy of any e-mails and contact lists.
Twitter may remove the account or help the family to save a back-up of public tweets. However, it won’t allow relatives to have access to any accounts.
Facebook can “memorialise” or close the account. Memorialising removes certain information and means only confirmed friends can see the profile and post on the wall.
Paypal can close the account and it can issue a cheque for the remaining funds on request.
eBay can delete a customer’s account on request.
Companies without death policies:
Most companies deal with death on a case-by-case basis, but generally have no obligation to allow relatives access to accounts. It’s best to contact customer support with the details.
Many services will suspend or delete an account if it has been inactive for a period varying from three months to a year.
Death on a blog
Canadian writer Derek Miller (41), who died from cancer on May 3rd, announced his death on his blog.
The day after he had died an entry entitled "the last post" appeared on his blog. "Here it is. Im dead, and this is my last post to my blog. In advance, I asked that once my body finally shut down from the punishments of my cancer, then my family and friends publish this prepared message I wrote – the first part of the process of turning this from an active website to an archive," he began.
The post continues by reflecting on life and those he loved.
Through his actions, Miller was closing off his online life and controlling his digital legacy.
penmachine.com
PASSING ON DIGITAL ACCOUNT DETAILS
Some websites offer to encrypt account and password details to pass on to the executor after death. Most are free to a certain level with fees incurred for more complex services. The main ones are: entrustet.com, datainherit.com and legacylocker.com.
They can also delete accounts that people don't want relatives to see and can help families to try to find and access lost accounts. It is also possible to create your own encrypted file of passwords and leave the key to it in your will.
Alternatively, names of accounts without passwords can be left in a will leaving family to try to access them after death