Facebook has announced a new service for the friends and family of dead people.

“When someone leaves us, they don’t leave our memories or our social network,” Facebook says. “To reflect that reality, we created the idea of ‘memorialized’ profiles as a place where people can save and share their memories of those who’ve passed.”

When an account is memorialized, only friends confirmed by the dead person prior to death can see the account or even locate it via search. And though friends can post stuff to the dead person’s virtual “Wall”, no one can actually log in to the account. Facebook also says it will “try to protect the deceased’s privacy by removing sensitive information such as contact information and status updates” – and work to remove the profile from certain on-site feeds.

“We understand how difficult it can be for people to be reminded of those who are no longer with them,” the post continues. “For instance, just last week, we introduced new types of Suggestions that appear on the right-hand side of the home page and remind people to take actions with friends who need help on Facebook. By memorializing the account of someone who has passed away, people will no longer see that person appear in their Suggestions.”

To memorialize the profile of a dead person you know, you can contact Facebook by filling this online form, entitled “Deceased.” You must provide the deceased’s date-of-birth, email addresses they may have used to create their Facebook account, your relationship to the deceased, and proof of death, including a news article or obituary.

Tags: facebook

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