Web User - UK (2019-09-18)

Sync

iPhone

photos

to your

Google

account

so loved

ones can

access

them

Decide how long Google shouldwaituntil
it deemsyou gone for good

Create an Afternote timelinescrapbookthatonly your named

trustees cansee after you die

Secure your life online

Discuss digital afterlife servicesatwww.facebook.com/webusermagazine 18 Sept - 1 Oct 2019 51

account (YouTube, Gmail, Andr oid and
so on) post mortem.
Go tomyaccount.google.c om/
inactiveto set it up. First, you have to
decide how long ‘inactive’ means: thre e,
six, 12 or 18 months. When there’s been
no activity whatsoever for that amount
of time, Google will either delete your
account and data , or share your chosen
login s and datawith a ‘trusted contact’.
Unlike Facebook, Google doesn’ t notify
the contact until after you’ve stopped
using your account. Find out more at
bit.ly/inactive484.
If you die without setting up Inactive
Account Manage r, then your next of kin
can ask Google to delete your account
viabit.ly/gdelete484.

Bequeath your iPhonephotos
Your iPhone, iPad andiTunes datadies
when you do, says Apple, and no-one is
allowed to download it or even see it.
Apple spent four years trying to uphold
this policy in a British court, until in May

this year a judge

orde red the

company to let a

widow and her

daughter see their

late husband and

dad’s iPhone

photos (bit.ly/

iphonepics484).

Nevertheless,

Apple is not about

to changeits

policy. So to

ensure your

surviving family

can access your

i-photos and videos, leave the relevant

passwordsand codes in a digi tal lock er.

Alternativ ely, sync your photos

automatically to a service that allows

legacyaccess, such as Google Ph otos.

Instal l Google Ph otos for iOS (bit.ly/

gphotos484), then go to Settings and

tap Privacy, Photos, Google Ph otos.

Find out more atbit.ly/gphotosios484.

Create a digital scrapbookof

your life

A digi tal scrapbookcombines the best

feat ures of a secure safe and online

photo album, and is a wonderful way to

say goodbye tofamily and friends.

Afternote (www.afternote.com) lets you

create a ti meline of photos and scanned

mementoes; write farewell messagesto

loved ones; set out your funeral wishes;

and even draw up a bucket list. It’s all

stor ed securely for as long asyou live,

until access is given to your named

trustees when you die.

UK-based Lexikin (www.lexikin.com)

is a more legally-minded affair, run in

partnership with a London law firm.

You can create a family tree, list digi tal

assets, record your life stor y and access

a collection of free end-of-life resources.

Paid -for services you can hire th rough

the site include wills and executors.

Most sites expect your family to do

the legwork when you’re gone. They

usually demanda copy of your death

certificate, which loved ones can

orde r online from the General

Register Office atbit.ly/register484.

• Amazonwill give limited account
  access and some datatransfer to a
  verified family memberof a deceased
  account holder. The family member
  will needto email their ID and account
  holder’s death certificate to
  bereavement-suppor [email protected].


• Applewill delete iTunesand iCloud
  accounts if next of kin provide a death
  certificate. However it totally bans
  family from accessing photos and
  other data.


• Microsoftautomatically deletes
  your account after a year of inactivity.
  Within that deadline, a ‘ver ified Next

HOW LOVED ONES CAN*CLOSE YOUR OTHERACCOUNTS (*ORCAN’T!)

beneficia ries, your family can apply to

clos e your account and transfer

funds. They’ll needa copy of your will,

a grant of prob ate and/or a letter of

admini stration (bit.ly/paypal484).

• Twitterwill delete an account if
  requested by next of kin (bit.ly/
  twitter484). Your family can maintain
  your account in your name if you
  want, as with WW2 veteran Harry
  Leslie Smith, who died in 2018
  (twitter.com/Harryslastst and). Twitter
  won’t hand out logindetails to
  anyone, so if you want your account
  to outlive you, you’ll needto securely
  bequeath your password.


• Yahoowill cl ose an account if a
  family sends a formal le tter and a
  copy of th e deceased user’s death
  certificate to Yahoo in the US (bit.ly/
  yahoo484).

of Kin’ can apply for a DVD of your

Hotmail, MSN and Outlook emails and

address books– but not your Windows

10, Office 365 or Xbox Live activity.

They needto apply by post, with

documentation, to Microsoft in the US

(bit.ly/mskin484).

• PayPalis in line with most ba nks and
  financial services. If you haven’t securely
  bequeathed your passwords to named