CSA Online by James Dolan Unplugging your digital life Dealing with your “digital remains” after you’re gone You’ve written your will, appointed your executor and figured out what to leave to whom. Congratulations – your end-of-life plan is all taken care of. Hang on: what about your online life? Over the years, various websites, social platforms and other online properties have probably accumulated a great deal of information about you. How do you deal with these “digital remains”? Huh? “Digital remains?” What’s that? It’s a term that refers to your online information, identity and “presence” – think social media profiles, account info, photos or videos, community posts, banking logins, subscriptions and, of course, emails and texts. In the future, it could even include AI-generated avatars, personas or characters. All of this info typically isn’t stored on your computer at home. Rather, it’s uploaded into the cloud, where it’s stored across a series of interconnected servers, potentially forever – until someone specifically requests that it be deleted. Not to be cold but ... why should I care about this? I’ll be gone anyway! Well, sure, you could think that way. But there are a bunch of reasons why you’ll want to deal with it: Less mess for heirs – it takes time and effort to sort through all of that online info and delete whatever needs to be deleted. It’s a huge chore to leave for someone else – is that what you want to leave behind? Eliminate identity theft – dormant accounts and profile info can be stolen by hackers and fraudsters. That info might be used to con your family, friends, or even your estate. Ensure privacy – your online life probably contains some personal info which you’d rather keep private. The possibility that anyone would ever find or see it is probably very small, but why take the chance? OK, you’ve convinced me. What do I need to do? You don’t need to be a lawyer or estate planner or computer scientist to deal with your digital remains. All you need to do is to follow this simple six-step process. We’ve labelled the steps in order of importance: 48 | www.snowbirds.org
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