Online will for social network

Anyone who was actively involved in social networks during their lifetime leaves behind a wealth of information after their death that does not simply "die" with them - including birthday reminders and absence notes. In addition, in case of doubt, people gain access to chats and the like to whom the deceased would never have granted this under certain circumstances. The IT trade magazine CHIP gives five tips on how users can properly manage the inheritance of mailboxes and e-mail accounts while they are still alive.

Appoint executor
Select a friend or relative in good time who will confidently take care of personal data after your death. And who in this way receives all Internet access and the associated contracts with all rights and obligations. The heir can then save important data, cancel subscriptions and spread the sad news on social networks as desired.

Write power of attorney
Issue a power of attorney to the trusted person, which you deposit in the safe, safe deposit box or with the notary. This enables the trusted person to directly initiate the deletion of an account. If there is no corresponding regulation and the passwords of the deceased are not available, surviving dependents must contact the individual service providers with a death certificate or certificate of inheritance and hope for cooperation.

Create clarity
Create a list of the services you use and what should be done with them. Outstanding bills can be settled in this way, contracts can be cancelled and credit balances paid out. Although funeral directors and online service providers also offer digital estate management, they hardly cover all services.

Save passwords
Save access data on a protected USB stick or use a password manager. The master password goes to the trusted person. More and more companies are also offering their own precautions in the event of death. If there is no user activity for a long period of time, Google, for example, switches the account to inactive mode. The authorized executor receives a message and instructions on how to download certain content from the former user, such as videos and blogs.

Check estate arrangements
Some services, such as Microsoft, offer special estate management options. After presentation of the certificate of inheritance or death certificate, the company sends a DVD with the deceased's e-mail data or deletes it. An e-mail to the address msrecord@microsoft.com is sufficient in most cases.

You can find the full article in the 5/16 issue of CHIP. The magazine is available in stores from 1.4.