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What happens to your online accounts when you die?

A few months ago, I heard of a work acquaintance's death via his company's social media. Shocking and abrupt - I had just met up with him (let’s call him George) for the first time. We joked over beers in a cozy little alleyway cafe, me and a coworker and George. It made me queasy to see George’s s

In the physical world, a book review might have been published in a newspaper (if it was deemed worthy by the editors), and your descendants might be able to find it in public archives or your personal paper copy. In lieu of a formal process, RUFADAA should get your fiduciary access to your data; but it might be easier if you leave behind a password manager or notebook with notable accounts and their login information - especially for end-to-end encrypted services. Service providers will often prune inactive users’ data; I logged into my old Skype account recently to find no one online, and only empty histories in the old group chats (good, we were teenage boys then).

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