Why it matters: Hack of the day: How to set up your Legacy Contact: The wider industry impact

‘Hack of the Day’ is a new weekday series from ‘The Times of India’ that offers quick and practical solutions to common problems. Each hack focuses on leveraging accessible tools and features, ranging from government websites to everyday applications. The goal is to help readers save time, reduce expenses, and minimize stress. This initiative presents straightforward fixes aimed at enhancing daily life through smarter living.

Why this feature matters

The Legacy Contact feature can be accessed through Facebook’s Accounts Centre and is available for users aged 18 years and above. Planning for digital accounts is becoming as important as planning for personal documents and records. Facebook has a feature called Legacy Contact that allows users to designate a trusted friend or family member to manage parts of their account after they pass away. The feature aims to ensure a person’s Facebook profile is managed the way they would like and to make it easier for loved ones to manage their digital presence. Once selected, the legacy contact can manage a memorialised account, but they cannot log in to the account, read private messages, or post as the account owner. The Legacy Contact feature can be useful for anyone who wants to make digital estate planning easier for their family and friends. Instead of leaving loved ones unsure about what to do with a Facebook account, users can decide in advance who should manage it. The feature also helps preserve memories, photos and posts that family members may want to keep. At the same time, it offers an option to request account deletion after death if that is the user’s preference. The feature is currently available only for the main Facebook profile and does not apply to additional profiles.

What is a Legacy Contact on Facebook

A Legacy Contact is a person you choose to manage limited parts of your Facebook account after it has been memorialised. Facebook created this feature to help users decide in advance how their accounts should be handled after their death.