How to Create Your Digital Legacy

Here’s a breakdown of how this site will help you protect and pass on your digital legacy:

  1. How to preserve personal data you want passed on to your family for future generations:
    1. Organize all your photos, videos, stories, health records, important documents and more
    2. Establish a method to share and pass all this data to your family
    3. Establish a data backup plan to protect the information.
  2. Ensure your family is prepared to manage and inherit your data and accounts upon your death:
    1. Provide access to computers, phones and other devices
    2. Provide passwords to access all critical accounts such as photo, financial and email.
    3. Provide your wishes regarding whether to memorialize, delete or have a family member manage social media accounts.

Each of these areas need to be completed to establish a digital legacy management plan. This site provides many articles and resources for each of these. Updates with new information are gathered and organized so be sure to visit back for updates or signup for the newsletter at the bottom of this page.

Password Management

Using a password management app is the most critical first step. Your family may never be able to access your data without this.

Backup Management

Creating a backup plan protects your personal data from theft or loss.

  • Start by backing up your data at home. Here’s several articles to help you do this.
  • You should backup your data to the cloud in case of a burglary or fire in which case local backups won’t do you any good.

Photo & Video Management

You should have a process to scan your photos, slides, negatives as well as software to organize it on your computer. Your photos should be part of your backup plan. You can also use software to store your photos privately to share with family and friends in the cloud.

Digital Legacy Estate Planning

The laws around a digital legacy with regards to estate planning continue to be defined and are evolving. You can designate your digital estate and wishes for them separately in your Will. You can also designate a digital executor for those assets. You may want to research the current specifics based on your location to get the most up to date specifics.

  • I wrote an article (needs to be updated) that provides details with a basic template for someone to access all of your data.
  • You can also visit the Digital Estate Apps page to find something to help manage this for you.

Digital Legacy Web Services Management

There are several aspects related to managing your web and social media accounts for the future. You may want to back up or export your data for personal archiving. Most services now have options for determining your wishes for how your presence should be maintained (or deleted) after you die. Facebook and Google allow you to designate someone and what they can access or options for managing your account after you die.

My Inspiration to create and teach others about Digital Legacy

If you’re curious about the origin story behind why I was inspired to research and help others to create a digital legacy, you can read an article here. I also did this presentation back in 2013 but the overall concepts still hold up.

What is Digital Legacy?

A Digital Legacy is the digital collection of your life's stories, memories, and essential information. It includes the personal data you've created such as photos, videos and stories. It also includes the practical details your family will need, such as access to passwords, backups, financial accounts and more. By organizing this information now, you ensure your life story is preserved for future generations while giving your loved ones the clear roadmap they need to manage your digital affairs in a painless way by providing access to this vital information upon your death.