If worrying about what you Facebook account will do after you die is high on your priority list, fret not. The mighty social network has now added a "legacy contact" feature to allow your account to be accessed after you're gone.

Facebook has been subjected to thousands of requests from those left behind attempting to control or shut down the account of the deceased.

The new "legacy contact" feature can be set in the security settings as an insurance policy. This allows them to select another person who will have access to their account should they pass away. That person will be able to make one last post, manage friend requests, update the cover and profile photos and archive content.

While the legacy contact will be able to download content they won't have access to private messages or be able to alter posts which have already been published.

At the moment this system does not apply to the UK yet. Currently UK residents still have their account left frozen or left on as a digital memorial. The US has the update first with a UK rollout, as well as other regions, coming in due course.

Since Facebook only allows one contact to be added this could prove unhelpful if they both die together. But it has said that if a person is named in a will as a "digital heir" it will honour that and allow them access to the account.

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