Losing a loved one is never easy. You spend so much time with them, creating so many cherished memories. In this day and age, with social media, someone can easily create a place online so that all of those who care for the departed can share stories, photos, memories and help each other through the process of grief. A great way to memorialise the dearly departed is to turn their Facebook page into a memorial page.
However, before converting the Facebook page of the deceased into a memorial page, there is one thing to consider. Would they want their Facebook page turned into a memorial page?
If the departed was a more private individual who didn’t regularly use their Facebook account, they may not want their account to remain in use after they are gone. The best thing to do may be to close their account and keep their privacy.
On the other hand, if the deceased was someone who regularly used their Facebook account, or was someone who wouldn’t have minded their account staying active. Then a Facebook memorial page could be a wonderful idea to bring together all those who knew them and share memories of their magnificent life. Click here to contact Facebook and begin the memorialisation process
Once the account is memorialised:
- “Remembering” will be shown next to the person’s profile name
- Family and friends can share memories on the memorialised timeline – depending on privacy settings
- Shared content remains and is visible to the audience it was shared with
- The profile will no longer appear in suggestions, ads or birthday reminders
- No one can log in to the account
- If no legacy contact is assigned, the account cannot be changed
- Pages with a sole admin whose account was memorialised will be removed if request is valid
Before, we mentioned that if no legacy contact is assigned, then the account of the deceased cannot be changed. So what exactly is a legacy contact? A legacy contact is someone that the account holder chooses to look after the account if it were to be memorialised. They will have extra privileges on the Facebook memorial page.
A legacy contact can:
- Write a pinned post on your profile (perhaps to send a final message on the deceased behalf)
- Update the profile picture and cover photo of the account
- Request the removal of the account
- Download a copy of what you’ve shared on Facebook – if the feature is turned on
For information about how to add a legacy contact, click here for a comprehensive guide by Facebook to assist people through the process.
Now, if your loved one has decided that their Facebook page should be removed when they are laid to rest, another option to remember them is to create a Facebook memorial group. To do this, all you need to do is create a group on Facebook and invite all your family and friends who want to take part. It is a very simple but effective method to help remember the deceased, but also help others through the mourning process and share memories of all the good times. If you’re creating a group for this purpose, you may want to consider making the group secret so that it can’t be found when searching.
Losing a loved one is a devastating experience for all those involved, so when making a Facebook memorial page or memorial group, please be considerate of everyone’s feelings. Everyone deals with grief differently, please make sure to be respectful to everyone, both the deceased and those who are missing them. A Facebook memorial page or group is a place to bring together people and to make sure that the memory of the deceased goes on.
Browse our Online Memorials & Memorial Services category and find a company near you for additional services.
