How to preserve a loved one's digital legacy

When someone dies today, their memory is scattered: photos on two phones and a cloud, videos in the family group chat, social media profiles, an inbox full of history. Gathering that inheritance is an act of love with an expiry date: the longer it takes, the more is lost.

First: rescue

• Their phone: photos, videos, voice notes. Make a copy before the handset locks, goes missing, or the line is cancelled.
• Family group chats: ask everyone to search for and send their photos and videos of the person. Treasures will surface that nobody remembered.
• Paper: old albums digitise well with a phone and good light, or with a scanner.

Second: decide what happens to their accounts

• The major social networks let you memorialise a profile or close it, on proof of the death.
• Email and subscriptions are best closed, to avoid charges and unpleasant surprises.
• If they left passwords written down, or used a password manager, the family will be enormously grateful. (And it's a good reminder to leave our own in order.)

Third: give it a lasting home

A folder on a hard drive gets forgotten, and drives die. What works is a living, shared place: the online memorial, with the best photos chosen, their story written, and contributions from everyone. Keep the full copies, too, in at least two places (a drive and a cloud).

The golden rule

More than one guardian: at least two family members should hold the memorial's management access and the copy of the photos. A person's memory should never depend on a single phone — or a single life.