BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Only a third of Germans care about what happens to their email inboxes and social media profiles after their death. This emerges from a survey carried out by digital association Bitkom on Monday.
Only 16 percent of Internet users regulated their digital assets, 21 percent did so partially. Around half of Internet users categorically exclude any regulation. According to the survey, another 15% plan to take care of their assets in the future.
“Everyone should be careful from the beginning about what will happen to their digital wealth in the event of their own death,” advises Bernhard Rohleder, managing director at Bitkom, according to the statement. For example, an overview of all accounts, including usernames and passwords, can be kept in a safe place at home or stored in a notarized will.
“Unless otherwise specified in the will or power of attorney, the heirs become the owners of all of the deceased’s belongings, including the computer or smartphone – which also includes access to social media accounts, for example,” says Rohleder. “Therefore, the decision about whether surviving relatives will have access to your digital privacy after death should be made while they are still alive.”
After death, profiles do not have to disappear completely. Some social platforms offer the option to convert personal pages into memorial profiles. According to the survey, this also corresponds to the wishes of many Internet users: a third of respondents want a digital afterlife and want their own social media profile to continue to exist even after death.
For the survey by Bitkom Research on behalf of the digital association Bitkom, 1,178 people in Germany aged 16 and over were interviewed by telephone from July 10 to August 12, including 1,014 Internet users./lfo/DP/zb