How To Assign Your Facebook Legacy Contact
What does a Legacy Contact do?
Often, when someone dies, people who knew them look for a way to reach out and a fitting place to leave a tribute – and, for some, the logical place to do that is on their Facebook page.
But seeing messages and posts flooding into a dead person’s profile, and maybe even seeing them being tagged in pictures, can be extremely unsettling for their family and friends.
A Legacy Contact is a person who an individual has chosen to take control of their account once they’ve died. If you choose someone as your Legacy Contact, they’ll be able to:
* Manage tribute posts on your profile, which includes deciding who can post and who can see posts, deleting posts and removing tags.
* Request the removal of your account.
* Respond to new friend requests.
* Update your profile picture and cover photo.
They won’t, however, be able to post as you or see your messages. You can also choose whether or not it’s possible for your Legacy Contact to download a copy of everything you’ve shared on Facebook – including all your posts, photos, videos and information from the About section of your profile, which might be content that wasn’t originally visible to them. Again, your messages won’t be included in this.
What if I don’t want a Legacy Contact?
That’s fine – it’s entirely optional. You might, instead, choose for your account to be deleted after your death – this is also an option in the Memorialisation settings of your account.
How do I assign my Legacy Contact?
On a smartphone:
1. Tap on the Facebook app to open it.
2. Tap on the three horizontal lines in the top right of the screen, this will open a menu.
3. Scroll down to ‘Settings & Privacy’. Tap on this to open it.
4. Tap on ‘Settings’ within this sub-menu. Scroll down and under the ‘Your Facebook information’ heading, you’ll find ‘Account ownership and control’. Tap on this.
5. Tap on ‘Memorialisation settings’ to choose your Legacy Contact. It’s a good idea to discuss it with the person you choose before giving them the responsibility. Make sure it’s someone you trust.
On a computer:
1. Open Facebook.com in your browser window and make sure you’re logged in on your own account.
2. In the top navigation bar, click on the downward arrow to the far right of the screen and select ‘Settings’.
3. Under ‘General Account Settings’, select ‘Memorialisation settings – decide what happens to your account after you pass away’.
4. Here you’ll find information about your Legacy Contact and can assign your own – it’s a good idea to discuss it with the person you choose before giving them the responsibility. Make sure it’s someone you trust.