Digital heritage: tips and solutions for transmitting your data

Deal Score0

In the digital age, we accumulate more personal data every day. From photos and videos to online banking accounts, social media and digital shopping, our digital assets continue to grow. But what happens to all this digital heritage after our death? Who will have access to it and how will it be managed? The question of the transmission of digital data arises today with particular urgency, and it is essential to understand the issues and the solutions available to us to preserve and transmit our digital heritage in a secure and organized manner.

Let's explore together the different facets of the management and transmission of digital heritage, addressing the legal aspects, preservation methods and available tools, such as Postumoto simplify these procedures and ensure the continuity of your digital heritage.

What is digital heritage?

THE digital heritage encompasses all the intangible goods that we possess online or in electronic form. These properties include:

Personal data: photos, videos, documents stored on clouds (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.), emails, and messaging accounts.
Digital financial assets: online bank accounts, cryptocurrencies, digital wallets, payment accounts like PayPal, etc.
Social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
Digital purchases: e-books, films, music, various subscriptions.
Digital professional assets: files, software, works of art, music and important data related to a professional activity.

By accumulating these digital assets, we create a real digital heritage that is important to manage and transmit to prevent it from being lost or unused after our disappearance. Managing this heritage requires understanding not only what it includes, but also how the laws and regulations apply to its transmission.

Why is it important to pass on your digital heritage?

The transmission of digital heritage is an increasingly relevant subject, because it allows:

Preserve memories: photos, videos and messages exchanged online represent priceless memories for loved ones. By providing for their transmission, we guarantee that these memory elements remain accessible.
To avoid fraud and identity theft: after a death, inactive digital accounts can become easy prey for cybercriminals. By designating a digital heir, you can avoid abuse and protect your identity post-mortem.
To ensure the continuity of professional business: for entrepreneurs or self-employed people, professional data can be essential to the proper functioning of the activity. Their transmission ensures business continuity and protects customers and partners.
To facilitate administrative procedures for loved ones: digital heirs, if they are properly designated and informed, can access the information necessary to settle accounts online and simplify administrative procedures related to inheritance.

In France, several laws govern the management of digital assets after death. The law for a digital Republic of 2016 notably introduced measures allowing users to specify their wishes concerning their post-mortem personal data, in particular on social networks.

However, this legislation remains limited and digital legacy management serviceslike Postumo, provide complementary solutions to meet user expectations.

The different types of digital assets to protect

Personal content

Personal content includes any data we keep for personal or family reasons. These include, for example, photos, videos, family documents or even conversations exchanged by email. The transmission of this content allows us to preserve an important part of our identity and our collective memory.

Financial assets

Financial assets also include all online accounts associated with monetary values. This includes online banking accounts, online gaming accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, games and payment service accounts like PayPal or neobanks. Ensuring the transfer of these assets helps ensure that funds are not lost and that loved ones can access them when needed. In France only, these are more than 7 billion euros in dormant assets!

Professional assets

For self-employed workers, freelancers and entrepreneurs, professional data can represent essential capital for their loved ones or partners. Documents, client files, and other critical information must be organized to facilitate their transmission and post-mortem management.

The protection of digital assets involves several steps to guarantee the security and transmission of data. Here are some practical tips:

Use secure passwords: The first barrier of protection lies in the quality of the passwords used to access digital accounts. Use strong and varied passwords, and change them regularly.
Centralize information: using a digital safe or password manager allows you to centralize access to different accounts. These tools also make it possible to name a beneficiary or heir, who can access the information if necessary.
Use a specialized platform like Postumo: Postumo offers a complete solution for organizing and transmitting your digital assets. Thanks to its foresight and post-death management services, this platform makes it possible to centralize essential information and secure it to transmit it to the family at the appropriate time.

Options for transmitting your digital heritage

Write a digital will

To organize the transmission of your digital inheritance, it is possible to include your digital assets in a traditional will. A digital will is also a legal document that specifies a person's wishes regarding the management and distribution of their digital assets after their death.

These assets can include social media accounts, online files, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, and other digital assets.

Unlike traditional wills, which are generally written on paper and kept physically, the digital will is designed and saved in electronic form. It is recommended to consult a notary so that this will is valid and complies with the laws in force.

Use a specialized platform like Postumo

Postumo offers a convenient and secure alternative for those who want to centralize their information digitally. Thanks to this platform, users can organize and share their access, as well as their instructions for their digital assets, with their loved ones or a designated heir.
Postumo offers legal supervision and assistance to prepare the management of data transmission.

Solutions available from digital service providers

Some major platforms, like Facebook and Google, offer options for managing accounts in the event of death. For example, Facebook allows you to designate a bequest contact who can manage your account after your death.

Although these options are useful, they do not cover all digital assets and do not replace a more comprehensive solution like that offered by Postumo.

Managing the digital legacy of the deceased can be complex, particularly when no prior information has been left behind. Here are some key steps to make this process easier:

Access accounts: If passwords and logins have been centralized in a digital vault, this makes accessing accounts easier.
Recover important data: photos, documents, financial information, etc. It is essential to gather crucial data for the heirs.
Close unnecessary accounts: To avoid identity theft, it is recommended to close online accounts that will no longer be used.
Respect the wishes of the deceased: if the deceased left instructions regarding their digital assets, these instructions must be respected.

Frequently asked questions about digital heritage

What belongs to digital heritage?

THEdigital heritage includes all the intangible assets that we have online: accounts on social networks, multimedia content, cryptocurrencies, documents stored in the cloud, etc.

The transmission of your digital heritage is essential for several reasons. First, it helps preserve digital memories such as photos, videos, and messages that are often scattered across different platforms and applications.
These elements constitute a precious part of the intangible heritage, recalling important life moments and shared memories.

Then, the transmission of these assets also helps protect the memory of the deceased and avoid the risks of identity theft. Unmanaged accounts can indeed become targets for fraudulent acts, thus compromising the private life of the deceased and that of their loved ones.

The transmission of the digital assets of a deceased person is regulated by law. According to current legislation, everyone can, during their lifetime, indicate their wishes regarding the retention or deletion of their personal data. This process is crucial to ensure that their wishes are respected after their death.

To facilitate this transmission, it is recommended to create a detailed inventory of its digital assets, including usernames and passwords for main accounts. This inventory can be entrusted to a notary or kept in a secure service such as Postumo, which centralizes and secures personal information, thus facilitating their management for the heirs.

The heirs also have the possibility of subrogating themselves to the rights of the deceasedallowing them to access accounts and make the necessary decisions regarding their maintenance or deletion. This process ensures that digital accounts are neither abandoned nor misused, while respecting the last wishes of the deceased.

The use of secure passwords, digital safes, and platforms like Postumo are essential to ensure the protection of your data online.

Conclusion

Management and transmission of sound digital heritage are increasingly important in a world where we are increasingly connected. By anticipating these steps, you ensure the protection of your digital assets and reduce the burden on your loved ones.

Solutions like Postumo allow you to centralize, secure and transmit your data in a simple and secure manner, thus providing the peace of mind and foresight necessary to protect your digital heritage.