Why End-of-Life Care Should Include Digital Assets Management
This opinion article argues that digital assets management must become a standard component of end-of-life care. With 535 million WhatsApp users and 9.75 million annual deaths in India, vast amounts of digital data—social media profiles, emails, cloud photos, cryptocurrency wallets—remain locked and unmanaged after death. The author notes that death is now a digital event, and families struggle to access or manage loved ones' digital traces, which can both comfort and cause grief. The Gujarat High Court recently ruled that iCloud data can form part of a deceased's estate, and India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 allows nomination of a person to exercise data rights after death. International platforms offer partial tools like Apple's legacy contact and Meta's memorialization options. The article calls for individuals to decide in advance whether their digital traces are deleted, preserved, or transferred, and for healthcare systems to integrate digital legacy planning into end-of-life care.
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Why End-of-Life Care Should Include Digital Assets Management
This opinion article argues that digital assets management must become a standard component of end-of-life care. With 535 million WhatsApp users and 9.75 million annual deaths in India, vast amounts of digital data—social media profiles, emails, cloud photos, cryptocurrency wallets—remain locked and unmanaged after death. The author notes that death is now a digital event, and families struggle to access or manage loved ones' digital traces, which can both comfort and cause grief. The Gujarat High Court recently ruled that iCloud data can form part of a deceased's estate, and India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 allows nomination of a person to exercise data rights after death. International platforms offer partial tools like Apple's legacy contact and Meta's memorialization options. The article calls for individuals to decide in advance whether their digital traces are deleted, preserved, or transferred, and for healthcare systems to integrate digital legacy planning into end-of-life care.