How to Protect Your Digital Assets and Memories
Unlike traditional assets, digital assets are not always easily transferable upon death. Some are not transferable at all due to the licensing agreements that you agree to – for example when you make an iTunes purchase or add a game to your Steam library. Some digital assets such as cryptocurrency are fully transferable, but only if you have access to the correct encryption keys as an executor or beneficiary.
What is a digital asset?
A digital asset is essentially anything digital that has value, establishes ownership, or is discoverable. Examples include photos, manuscripts, documents, data, and cryptocurrencies. They are files created electronically that exist as data held on a digital storage device or computer system, including digital images, photos, animations, audio, video, spreadsheets, word documents, and emails. Digital assets can have monetary and sentimental value.
What can you do today to protect your digital assets and your digital memories?
1. Create a detailed digital asset inventory to itemise your digital footprint, including all user names, encryption keys, and access instructions. This information must be stored securely and only shared with your Executor.
2. Update your online legacy settings by logging in to your digital accounts and updating your legacy settings.
When a loved one dies or is incapacitated, you may wish to access their digital accounts for sentimental items, such as photos and videos. Online profiles and accounts are also part of your loved one’s digital legacy. Often these accounts have terms and conditions, meaning the accounts are private and not be shared. The result is that many families are unable to access a loved one’s account after they have gone.
In response, some social media companies and internet service providers have put tools in place to allow you to decide how your loved ones can access your accounts after your death or if you lack capacity.
If you have any of the following accounts – Facebook, Google, Apple, LinkedIn, X, or Instagram – you should take a few minutes to complete the legacy settings to give you peace of mind that your loved ones can access your photos and other digital assets when you are no longer here to do so.
This is an evolving area, so do keep your accounts under regular review.
3. Talk to your family and friends and help protect your digital memories. In years gone by, precious memories would have been passed from one generation to the next in the form of physical photo albums and bundles of photos. Now, such memories are saved to the “cloud”. We all need to give some thought as to what is going to happen to these sentimental digital memories after we die or if we lose capacity.
What would you want to pass on? What would you not want to pass on? Who would you want to have access to your assets? Do you know what will happen to your partner or parents’ digital assets? What would you lose access to? It is important to have these conversations now!
4. Maintain good digital hygiene and protect and keep secure your digital assets during your lifetime. There are a lot of things you can do to achieve good digital hygiene, including:
Have strong, varied passwords
Keep passwords private
Set up multi-factor authentication to add extra security
Delete and declutter old and no longer used accounts and profiles
Review your online account settings and your privacy settings
Update applications and devices as updates are released
Create backups of your data
Put in place cybersecurity protection
Keep your personal accounts separate from your work accounts
Protect and preserve your digital devices
5. Update your Will to reflect your wishes. It is always a good idea to keep your affairs under review as technology, circumstances and relationships change. Do you need to consider appointing a digital executor to protect, manage, and deal with your digital memories?
Please contact the Wills & Estates team if you want to discuss your digital assets and how to protect them, or update your Will.
