Advice and resources for handling the digital life and accounts of a loved one –before or after death
From Dave Savage, co-author of Heartfelt Memorial Services: Your Guide for Planning Meaningful Funerals, Celebrations of Life and Times of Remembrance. HeartfeltMemorialServices.com and DaveSavage.com
When someone dies, they're no longer physically here, but their digital self lives on. There are millions of Facebook accounts that are inactive due to death. Think about all of the other social sites and online services out there. There may be accounts ones you may not want others to know you have. After someone passes away, their digital assets live on in the form of computer files and data online. For some, that's not a big deal. But for others, the thought of leaving digital assets unattended for eternity after death is unthinkable.
Luckily, there are a number of services that allow you to delete, update, or transfer account information when you — or someone you care about — is incapacitated or dead.
Do a web search to see what is currently available they offer.
Search terms:
• review of after death digital account services
• digital accounts after death
• managing online accounts of a loved one
TheDigitalBeyond.com has an extensive list. Here is their list, as of September 2015
The Digital Beyond maintains this list of online services that are designed to help you plan for your digital death and afterlife or memorialize loved ones. These services come in all flavors including digital estate services, posthumous email services and online memorials.
If your service is not listed here, don’t feel left out. Let us know and we’ll add it to the list.
1000Memories 1000memories.com
Founded: July, 2010
1000memories provides memorial websites that allows users to invite other friends of the deceased to submit photos and stories. Founded by three friends who have lost loved ones, the site brings together the family and friends of the deceased to create a unique online memorial.
Afternote www.afternote.com
Founded: 2013
Afternote is an online service that allows you to plan for the unexpected and ensures your unique life story lives on. It gives you the opportunity to make your funeral wishes known, manage your digital legacy and leave goodbye messages to loved ones. Afternote also inspires you to record your life story on a personal […]
AfterSteps www.aftersteps.com
Founded: 2010
AfterSteps is an all-in-one end-of-life planning service. AfterSteps simplifies the end-of-life planning process by guiding users step-by-step through the estate, financial, funeral and legacy planning that make up a complete plan. AfterSteps stores your plan and related documents, and then transfers them to your designated beneficiaries upon passing. AfterSteps provides peace of mind and control, […]
Afterwords.cc afterwords.cc
Founded: 2012
Afterwords.cc is a secure online tool for leaving posthumous messages. The free version allows up to 3 messages to individuals or groups, while a small subscription enables unlimited messages. Invite two or more trustees to activate your account when you die, whenever that happens to be. We should all take the time to organize our […]
b-eMortal www.b-emortal.com
Founded: 2014
Description: b-emortal.com is a unique, and kind of fun, take on the digital afterlife. Playing off the concept of a person’s true time of death is the last time someone remembers them or says their name, b-eMortal.com is aiming to build a service where for a nominal fee ($5) they will have someone look at […]
Bcelebrated www.bcelebrated.com
Founded: July, 2009
Bcelebrated enables members to create a multi-media website that will become their autobiographical memorial site when the time comes. Members create password-protected private pages for loved ones, record their last wishes, and assign a charity to receive donations on their behalf. The service also sends automated notification emails at the time of a member’s death […]
BestBequest.com www.BestBequest.com
Founded: 2009
BestBequest is an award-winning cloud-based digital safe deposit box. Because there is no one better to guide your family than you, BestBequest’s unique LegacyVault helps you create a roadmap to help your loved ones through any life-changing event, from births to natural disasters to end-of-life arrangements. Preserve and protect your will, insurance policies, account passwords, […]
Boxego www.boxego.com
Founded: 2013
Boxego is a private journal that can be shared privately and socially, now and in the future. the unique Future Share options allow Boxego users to capture and keep the moments that matter to them and choose when to share them – if they want to share them.Part private journal, part social network, sharing options […]
Capsoole www.Capsoole.com
Founded: 2013
Capsoole allows you to protect your digital assets and information in case of emergency, without having to hand over potentially sensitive information to others. It is private, fully automated and secure.
Chronicle of Life www.chronicleoflife.com
Founded: 2008
Not exactly an online memorial, Chronicle of Life is a perpetual data hosting service with the mission to host your digital files “forever.” How does that work? You pay once and this 501(c)(3) non-profit promises to keep your data for all eternity.
Cirrus Legacy www.cirruslegacy.com
Founded: 2011
Cirrus Legacy is a service that stores your digital assets on a single hub. When you die, your digital executor or ‘Guardian’ can carry out your wishes for each specific asset.
Dead Man’s Switch www.deadmansswitch.net
Founded: August, 2008
Dead Man’s Switch is a simple posthumous email service. Users can create an account or log in via OpenID. Once logged in they can create messages to be sent after their death. Dead Man’s Switch asks that users log in periodically to verify that they are still alive. If users do not log in after […]
Dead Man’s Switch (.org) http://deadmansswitch.org/The service is simple. Type an email and optionally attach a few files. Every few days we will send you an email with a link that verifies you are still alive. If something does happen we will send your emails 30 days after we last heard from you. Is 30 days too long? No problem, someone close to you can use an emergency release code to dispatch the emails early.
Founded: 2009
The service is simple. Type an email and optionally attach a few files. Every few days we will send you an email with a link that verifies you are still alive. If something does happen we will send your emails 30 days after we last heard from you. Is 30 days too long? No problem, […]
Dead Social deadsocial.org
Founded: 2012
DeadSocial provides a range of free tools and tutorials. The service helps users plan their digital death and have an active influence in their digital legacy. DeadSocial launched their initial ‘goodbye’ tool at South by South West (SXSW). This enables users to create a series of messages consisting of videos, text and images. These messages […]
Deadman http://www.deadman.io/
Founded: 2012D
Deadman is a service that will contact you by phone, email, or text-message to make sure everything is OK. If you don’t respond, Deadman will email, call, or text any number of people that you define and send them documents, photos, or any other electronic file.
Death Switch deathswitch.com
Founded: 2006
Death Switch sends out emails after you die, or at least after it stops hearing from you. You get one email with no attachments for free, or 30 emails with attachments for $19.95 a year.
Departing.com Founded: 2013
Departing.com provides an independent, unbiased directory of every funeral home in the USA. Through it’s online portal, Departing provides planning services to individuals and families, enabling end users to both plan for and pay for their end of life needs. Departing’s service is free to consumers.
Digi.me digi.me
Founded: 2009
Digi.me is a private digital library which brings together all your personal data in one secure location which you own in perpetuity. You choose where to store it whether that be locally or in your own personal cloud. You can easily assign your library to a loved one if you wish.
DocuBank www.docubank.com
Founded: 1993
DocuBank was created in 1993 as an advance directives registry to make sure members have access 24-hour access to their advance directives. More than 200,000 members have used the DocuBank service since then, and DocuBank has added new features, including an online vault called SAFE that provides a place for members to store files. DocuBank’s […]
Estate Assist www.estateassist.com
Founded: 2014
Safe by Estate Assist is a secure place to store and organize your account information, digital assets, and important documents. We make it easy to share your Safe with people you trust, now or when you’re no longer with them. Think of Safe as an online safe deposit box created so that you and your […]
Estate Map estatemap.com
Founded: 2013
Easily organize, securely store, and selectively share your most important information. From Facebook to funeral plans, from photos to finances, from final words to the location of the key to the riding lawnmower, Estate Map uses robust bank-level security to help you leave behind an estate that’s easier to navigate.
Estate++ www.estateplusplus.com
Founded: May, 2008
Estate++ is a virtual safe deposit box that was developed in response to the need for safe and reliable access to information for planning and emergency purposes. Through natural disaster, theft — even death and incapacity — your information is always available.
Eterniam eterniam.com
Founded: 2013
Eterniam enables you to create your digital estate. It preserves all your digital assets: photos, videos, documents, your content from other services (such as Facebook) and more to come. You can bequeath each asset to chosen beneficiaries. Security and privacy are integral to the service. The terms of use spell out very clearly how digital […]
Everplans www.everplans.com/
Founded: 2013
Everplans is an online resource dedicated to empowering people to plan for and deal with end-of-life and death. Everplans was founded in 2011 by Adam Seifer and Abby Schneiderman, entrepreneurs with a passion for helping people and a proven track record of creating successful online communities.
Funeral Finder www.funeralfinder.com
Founded: 2009
A nationwide database, Funeral Finder lets families publish low cost, permanent obituaries and 100% free death notices in an attractive and ad-free format.
GEN-ARC www.gen-arc.com
Founded: 2011
As a leader in digital estate scanning and preservation solutions, GEN-ARC™ is committed to helping people organize, convert, protect and preserve valued digital estate assets for future heirs. GEN-ARC™’s cloud-based Digital Asset Management System is designed to facilitate generational succession(s) and future technology changes. It utilizes a uniquely-secure, financial trust to ensure the permanent protection […]
GhostMemo www.ghostmemo.com
Founded: 2013
GhostMemo is a website that provides a way for people to send emergency messages to their emergency contacts in case they become “inactive” and stop responding to proof-of-life email requests. Messages can be customized for multiple recipients, can include attachments, and max inactivity period can be changed at any time.
GoneTooSoon www.gonetoosoon.org
Founded: 2008
GoneTooSoon is a not-for-profit organization which enables anyone to create a free online memorial for a relative or friend who has passed away.
Heart2Soul www.heart2soul.com/
Founded: 2007
Every end-of-life celebration should be as unique as the individual it’s celebrating and Heart2Soul puts all the options in one place on the Web. Whether you’re looking for ways to support a friend or planning a funeral or memorial, thoughtful care and research has been put into our more than 125 unique topics. We rely […]
Hepbizimle www.hepbizimle.com
Founded: 2014
Hepbizimle (which in Turkish means “always with us”) is a Turkish speaking web-platform which allows users to cherish and celebrate the memories of their Loved Ones. Hepbizimle was created in the loving memories of our grandmothers, to celebrate them for years to come, so that our children and the children of our children will see […]
infibond infibond.com/
Founded: 2013
infibond is a social media network dedicated to personal legacy and memorialization through online documentation and storytelling. They curate life stories from all over the world and inspire people to turn their lives into a digital footprint. Users upload text, photos, music and videos, creating and sharing dynamic, engaging and everlasting life-stories through their own […]
KeepTheirMemoryAlive KeepTheirMemoryAlive.com
Founded: 2012
KeepTheirMemoryAlive is a smartphone app designed to enable loved ones to share memories and images about the life of a departed and at the same time build a remembrance community of friends, family and colleagues etc. Harnessing the power of sharing to help resolve grief and bereavement, the App has no in app purchases and […]
Knotify.me knotify.me/
Founded: 2014
Knotify.me is a free application that answers to your question “What happens to all my online accounts if I get amnesia, Alzheimer’s or if I leave from this world?” You can set future notifications to be sent to your family and beloved people or to yourself, ensuring that nothing of your digital life will be […]
Legacy.com legacy.com
Founded: 1999
Legacy.com is a site that offers online obituaries, memorial Web sites, and online guest books.
Life Book www.life-book.com
Founded: 2010
Life Book is a service that hosts memorial websites of those you have loved and want to remember. You design and administer a memorial network that is just for you, your relatives and friends. Create a special remembrance place for them with pictures, songs, videos and testimonies that you will share.
LifeNaut lifenaut.com
Founded: 2010
LifeNaut is a service that allows you to create interactive avatars, upload content, and even an DNA sample so that you can “create a free back-up of [your] mind and genetic code.”
Memorial Matters memorialmatters.com
Founded: 2010
Memorial Matters is an online memorial site that allows users to create online memorials for their loved ones. Once created invite people to come to the site to read about the deceased, leave a message, post photos and videos, share stories, send flowers. The site has no advertising so charges small fees of $4.95 monthly, […]
My Wonderful Life www.mywonderfullife.com
Founded: 2010
My mywonderfullife.com is a planning, messaging and memorial site with loads of features that will help you plan your own passing. You can leave letters, document your wishes, make sure your pets are taken care of, write your own obituary and even design your own headstone.
MyCyberSafe mycybersafe.com
Founded: 2013
MyCyberSafe’s goal is to help you preserve your digital assets, for yourself and your family, now and forever. It was established in 2013 to assist military personnel confronted with the onerous task of organizing and storing extensive deployment checklist information. Since that time, estate attorneys and others are discovering that what works for the military […]
MyGoodbyeMessage www.mygoodbyemessage.com
Founded: 2013
MyGoodbyeMessage is an online, interactive service that gives you the opportunity to write beautiful personal letters to be delivered either after a predefined period of time, or after you passed away. We could say that it sends your words and emotions to your family and friends after you are no longer able to.
MyMoriam www.mymoriam.com
Founded: 2012
MyMoriam offers a new and easy way of collecting, recording and updating your wishes, practical information, important reminders and the things that really matter. For now and for later, for yourself and for the people who care for you.
PartingWishes partingwishes.com
Founded: 2000
This site provides services dedicated to the private and secure creation of online Wills, Power of Attorney, Living Wills, Funeral Plans, Memorials. Legal documents are available for the US, UK and Canada. They have partnered with www.MyLifeLocker.com to offer secure storage of account credentials made available to Executors through a proprietary “keyholder” arrangement. Messages can […]
PassingBye.com www.passingbye.com
Founded: 2011
PassingBye is a subscription website, without advertising, providing members with a secure and private package of applications including a User ID and Password Protector, Unlimited capacity File Backup and Storage in the Cloud, An Interactive Journal Feature, and a Last Final Message. Shared and encrypted communication is with other members only on our website enhancing […]
Perpetu https://perpetu.co/
Founded: 2013
Perpetu is a prize-winning and innovative service that allows you to control what would happen to your online accounts upon your ‘departure’. We carry out your last wishes without asking for your passwords or requiring you to upload any document. With just a few clicks, you can specify the content you want to delete, and […]
Protect Their Memories ProtectTheirMemories.com
Founded: 2014
Protect Their Memories™ acts on behalf of a decedent’s estate or personal representative to delete social media account(s).
Remembered.com remembered.com
Founded: 2009
Create an online memorial website in memory of your loved ones with a bio, memories, photos and share with friends and family. Social networking features that include connectivity to friends and family around the world via Email invites and Facebook. Memorials are free to create and use for 30 days and can be commemorated forever […]
RememberWell www.rememberwell.net
Founded: 2005
RememberWell.net is a not for profit online memorial website for you to share and celebrate the memories of your loved one with family and friends.
SecureSafe www.securesafe.com
Founded: 2009
SecureSafe is the online data safe for the secure storage of passwords and documents. Our service includes the popular DataInherit feature that offers a secure and private way of passing on your files and passwords to partners, friends and loved ones in the event that something should happen to you. You can assign a beneficiary […]
The DocSafe www.thedocsafe.com
Founded: 2011
Organize and simplify your life. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Imagine being able to locate your critical financial and personal information and files in one centralized location that is available to you anywhere in the world. The DocSafe turns that into a reality for you.
The Voice Library www.rememberedvoices.com/
Founded: 2008
Record, save, and share the sound of your voice through The Voice Library, a secure online archive that you can use by phone and online. Record a story as soon as you hear it – listen anywhere, even without internet. Guarantee that your voice will be preserved for future generations.
ThoughtsBeyond thoughtsbeyond.com
Founded: 2010
ThoughtsBeyond provides individuals with a cloud-based solution to email text and/or video emails your loved ones after they die. Imagine if your grandchild could get an email sent directly to them from you? Where you are directly talking to them and telling them how much you love them; or giving them advice on life and […]
ToLovedOnes tolovedones.com/
Founded: 2013
At ToLovedOnes we specialize in delivering your letters to the right person at the right time after your passing. Our comprehensive scheduling system allows you to schedule your letters for any conceivable date even those yet to be determined life event dates like the birth of your first grandchild. This all happens automatically as our […]
USLegalWills.com/LegalWills.co.uk/LegalWills.ca USLegalWills.com
Founded: 2001
Provides services dedicated to the private and secure creation of online Wills, Power of Attorney, Living Wills, Funeral Plans. They have partnered with www.MyLifeLocker.com to offer secure storage of account credentials made available to Executors through a proprietary “keyholder” arrangement.
Vuture www.myvuture.com
Founded: 2013
Vuture is an iOS application that allows you to capture priceless memories, thoughts, or secrets today, which can be shared at a specified time in the future. The Process is easy: Record, Schedule, & Save. It’s that simple. You get to choose who you want to share your video with & when they will receive […]
WebCease www.webcease.com
Founded: 2013
WebCease, Inc. helps executors, trustees and administrators find online accounts that are digital assets for the estate of the deceased. WebCease’s Digital Asset Discovery™ services identifies the active online accounts and instructs on the different options for retrieval, closure or memorialization in accordance with the policies of each site. WebCease also helps reduce the risk […]
YouMattered.com YouMattered.com
Founded: 2014
YouMattered.com is a site where one can create an elegant online Memorial to honor the memories of loved ones. The site boasts a clean and modern layout, detailed help section, an interactive timeline and social media integration. Members can create up to Free Basic Online Memorial and unlimited Premium Memorials.