After my father passed away, any recordings of his voice became precious to me when I could no longer remember what he sounded like. I realized with all the technology available today, there was no reason my kids would have to share that experience. I wanted to find a way to leave some last words of comfort for them while at the same time make sure they had access to all my photos, videos, documents and passwords.
It all starts with with Google’s Inactive service (https://myaccount.google.com/inactive). Once your account has been inactive for a specified amount of time (for example, due to injury or death), Google will reach out to you via email and phone numbers you associate with your account.
After no success, Google will then contact up to 10 people and give them access to the services (Photos, Gmail, etc.) you choose. You can also choose to have your account automatically deleted after the notifications have been sent.
In addition to the message provided by Google, you can leave a customized message for each recipient. Knowing they will be 3 months into their grieving process, you can include words of comfort, advice and love.
This message can also include special links to photos or videos and this is where the magic begins.
With online storage so readily available, it’s easy to find a place to store personal video messages. For me, I use Youtube. Anytime a major event happens in my life or I feel the need to leave some words for one of my kids, I take a few moments to record my thoughts and upload a video. Once uploaded, the videos are automatically added to a specific playlist based on the title.
To ensure you have content for your playlist, put a yearly reminder in your calendar. In addition to a digital farewell, have a plan to pass on your passwords.
Resources:
Google - About Inactive Account Manager
Instagram - Memorialization
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