Facebook after death

What happens to your Facebook profile when you die?  In the ever increasing world of social media, this question is more likely to be asked. Interestingly enough, since about May of 2007 Facebook has had a policy of memorializing the pages of members who have died, hiding some features like the status updates, and locking it down to prevent any hacking attempts. Confirmed friends and family members can still post to the memorialized wall and view the page, which for some people is a great way to maintain a connection.

This policy came about because back in 2007 Facebook had intended to remove the profiles of some students at Virginia Tech who had been killed. Because of online protests and a letter-writing campaign by friends and other Facebook members who heard that the pages were to be removed, the company instead decided to memorialize them.

Facebook’s official memorializing explanation from the FAQ page is:

“When a user passes away, we memorialize their account to protect their privacy. Memorializing an account removes certain sensitive information (e.g., status updates and contact information) and sets privacy so that only confirmed friends can see the profile or locate it in search. The Wall remains so that friends and family can leave posts in remembrance. Memorializing an account also prevents all login access to it.”

Alternately, you can also request that the profile be taken down completely. Either can be done by filling out this form. You will need to provide online proof, such as a link to an obituary, as well as some other details like the email address that was used for the account, birth date, etc.