On Thursday, Google announced the launch of their Inactive Account Manager, the program that will handle all your Google accounts in the event of your death. Basically, this program allows you to set a period of inactivity (three, six, nine, or twelve months) before they take you count and delete it or pass it on to a designated friend/family member. Of course, in case you are just inactive, Google will send you an email or text to remind you before they take action. However, in the more than likely event that you are deceased, they will then make sure to take care of your account for you.
Twitter and Facebook also have similar policies, but their biggest difference is that they do not let users set up preferences for a situation like this. Rather, family or friends must contact these companies and request that the information is either taken down or profiles must be made into memorial pages.
So, does Google have an upper hand in this department? Or is this a bit over the top? Well, if you ask me, I think it's good to have settings that Google can go in and just remove your profiles. This seems to make the most sense, rather than making a friend or family member try and contact a huge company and fight them to make them take down your profile. I know of many instances where family members have not done this, and news feeds are constantly blown up by people posting on their facebook pages. I think it's okay if people want to commemorate someone that has passed, but the last thing I want to see in my news feed after someone passes away is a constant reminder that they are gone. Maybe all other social media companies can take a tip from Google and establish some settings like this into their accounts as well.
In an increasingly social world if you're not evolving you're not winning. These companies impress us with their social media savvy. free instagram followers now
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Kristin! This reminds me of my friend who died 3 years ago. His Facebook account is still active, and his friends are still posting on his wall. I believe Google is just protecting their users against identity theft. It will definitely help famous people who are active in social media.
ReplyDeleteI guess Google should implement that policy for bloggers and online shops too. What do you think? :)
Tommy Crowe
I’m pretty sure other social media think tanks are considering this option as well. After all, the administrators of social media networks are responsible for maintaining their users' accounts as well as ensuring the entire network is functioning without a hitch. It might be a good idea to implement this concept in other widely-used social media networks to improve the overall user experience. Thanks for sharing, Kristin! :)
ReplyDeleteClwyd Probert @ Whitehat