File photo: A burial scenario
Have you ever wondered what will become of your highly treasured social media accounts after you pass on from the earth? You will wonder no more after reading this.
When tragedy strikes in the 21st century, a very modern legacy is left behind - your social media accounts.
After 10 years, Facebook alone reportedly has an astonishing 30 million dead 'users' who all had active accounts before they passed away.
According to ABC , 8,000 more Facebook account users die daily and that's before you look at the likes of Twitter and Instagram.
Experts admit that it's not one of the most thought-through components of the social networking revolution .
Because if you think your loved ones can get into your accounts when you're gone, you're mistaken.
The privacy laws of companies such as those named above as well as email providers mean no one is allowed to log in as you.
If they try, they may force a shutdown of the account and lose what they were trying to preserve.
If you've ever wondered about what to do before you pass on - or if you're unfortunate enough to lose a loved on, here's a brief guide.
Facebook
The largest social network tells users they can say in advance whether they’d like to have their account memorialised or permanently deleted from Facebook in the event of their death.
Facebook has also offered a way for surviving family and friends to head off afterlife issues - by adding a 'legacy contact' who will have limited control of the account should you pass on.
After the legacy contact has posted a final message Facebook makes the profile into a memorial, where friends will not change but messages of sympathy and remembrance can be posted.
Any which are deemed unsuitable can be moderated by the legacy contact.
Twitter
In the event of the death of a Twitter user the company says it can work with a person authorised to act on the behalf of the estate, or with a verified immediate family member of the deceased, to have an account deactivated.
There are also avenues to request the removal of a deceased user's account, which will require you to provide information about the them, a copy of your ID, and copy of the death certificate.
They are clear on one thing, though - they are unable to provide account access to anyone regardless of his or her relationship to the deceased.
Instagram
The pictorial network also memorialises accounts like Facebook, but there are some differences.
Instagram doesn’t allow anyone to log into a memorialised account, and they cannot be changed, including changes to likes, followers, tags, posts and comments.
Posts the deceased person shared stay on Instagram and are visible to the audience they were shared with, but memorialised accounts don't appear in public spaces like searches.
Email
Gmail, as owned by Google, will allow you to apply to obtain the contents of a deceased person's email.
You can also set it to have an " Inactive Account Manager ," which either shares or delete your account after a set period of inactivity.
Yahoo also lets loved ones apply to close the account provided that they have the necessary documentation.
Apple's iCloud email and iTunes accounts are subject to different rules.
The corporation says : "You agree that your Account is non-transferable and that any rights to your Apple ID or Content within your Account terminate upon your death.
"Upon receipt of a copy of a death certificate your Account may be terminated and all Content within your Account deleted."
- Mirror Online
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