Make sure your online accounts get deleted when you die

Not everyone wants to leave this earth with their online accounts being managed by relatives and next-of-kin, or just floating around on the Internet forever. If you're the kind of person who likes your privacy -- even in death -- you should probably make some plans to have all of your online and social media accounts nuked when you pass away.

Some services, such as Google and Facebook, let you set up your eventual account deletion before you get anywhere close to death. Other services will keep your account forever unless an immediate family member or the executor of your estate requests it be removed. Here's how to make sure all your loose ends are tied up, and that nobody ever gets hold of your top-secret/possibly incriminating emails and Twitter direct messages.

Google

Google's Inactive Account Manager lets you choose what happens to your account when it becomes inactive for a certain period of time. You can set up the Inactive Account Manager to delete your Google account and all products associated with that account, including Gmail, Blogger, AdSense, and YouTube.

To set this up, log in to your Google account and go to this page. You will need to provide Google with a phone number for alerts -- Google will send a message to this number before your account times out, so you know your account is about to become inactive. You will then need to select a timeout period (3 months, 6 months, 9 months, one year, 15 months, or 18 months).

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Then, under Optionally delete account, turn on Delete my account. Click Enable to turn the Inactive Account Manager on, and you're set. If you fail to log in to your account for the timeout period you selected, Google will delete your Google account and all data associated with it.

Facebook

Facebook is one of few online services that lets you set a legacy contact -- someone who can manage parts of your account and memorialize your page -- for when you die. Facebook also lets you delete your account when you die (though it doesn't use inactivity to determine that you've passed away).

To make sure your Facebook account is deleted when you die, open Facebook and go to Settings > Security > Legacy Contact. Check the box next to Account Deletion.

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You will see a pop-up box asking if you really want to delete your account in the future. Click Delete After Death and then re-enter your Facebook password to save your changes. Your account will now be deleted when Facebook is notified of your death -- this means that if anybody tries to memorialize your page, it will be deleted instead of memorialized.

Use a digital legacy service

Google and Facebook give you the power to delete your account when you die, but many sites and services -- such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Microsoft, and Yahoo -- do not. These sites will delete the account of a deceased person at the request of an immediate family member or the executor of an estate (by the way, you can and should delineate how you want your digital life to be handled in your last will and testament). If you want to take full control, you can use a digital legacy services like Perpetu.

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Perpetu is an online service that covers Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Flickr, LinkedIn and GitHub. You connect your accounts to Perpetu, and then you outline your final wishes for each service -- for example, you can request that Perpetu delete certain emails from your Gmail account, delete tweets and direct messages from Twitter, or delete files from your Dropbox account.

The service can't really delete actual accounts, but it can delete data and leave final updates for your friends and family to see. Perpetu's service kicks in when the company receives a report of your death from a trusted contact with your reporting code, so it's still a good idea to put this in your will.

Product feature comparison between Unity Express, Unity Connection, and Unity

	Cisco Unity Express 8.6	Cisco Unity Connection 10.5	Cisco Unity 8.0
Target Customers	Distributed Enterprise Branch Office SMB	Enterprise Commercial SMB	Enterprise Commercial
Platform	Router	Server Cisco Business Edition 3000 Cisco Business Edition 6000 Cisco SRE 910 SM	Server
Maximum capacity (Ports/Sessions)	32	250 ports on single server or 500 ports on active/active cluster pair	200 per server (multiple servers supported)
Maximum capacity (Mailboxes)	500	20,000 per server (multiple servers or server pairs supported)	15,000 per server (multiple servers supported)
Total networked users	500,000	100,000	250,000
Intuitive Telephone User Interface
Play and process messages (repeat, reply, forward, delete, save, mark as new, hear day or time stamp, skip to next message)	X	X	X
Reverse, pause, or fast forward message	X	X	X
Control volume, speed during playback		X	X
Pause or resume during message recording		X	X
Address message to multiple recipients	X	X	X
Remove introductions to forwarded messages		X	X
Search for messages by name, caller ID, phone number, extension		X	X
Regular, urgent, and private messages	X	X	VM, UM-E
Secure messages	X	X	X
Future delivery	X	X	X
Return receipt		X	X
Live record	X	X	X
Live reply (Internal and external callers)	X	X	X
Address message by extension or by name	X	X	X
Message delivery to non-subscribers or subscribers at non-office telephone numbers	X	X	X
Forward fax to any fax machine	X	X	X
Access meetings in Cisco Unified Meeting Place and Unified Meeting Place Express		X
Access appointments in your Microsoft Outlook calendar		X
Set preferences per device (such as speed, volume, conversation type, PIN requirement)		X
Edit alternate contact numbers from the TUI		X
Desktop Message Access*
Single inbox and message store (Microsoft Exchange 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013)		X	X (No support for Microsoft Exchange 2013)
Single Inbox and message store (Microsoft BPOS Dedicated)		X
Single Inbox and message store (Microsoft Office 365)		X
Single Inbox and message store (Google Mail)		X (via 3rd- party solution***)
Single Inbox and message store (IBM Lotus Domino)		X (via 3rd- party solution***)
Single Inbox and message store (VMWare Zimbra)		X (via 3rd- party solution***)
Single Inbox and message store (Novell GroupWise)		X (via 3rd- party solution***)
Play, save and delete voice mail	IMAP, Inbox	UM-C, UM-D, UM-O UM-B, UM-G, UM-V, UM-GW, IMAP, IMAP-O, Inbox	UM, IMAP, IMAP-O, Inbox
Reply, forward, record voice mail	Inbox	UM-C, UM-D, UM-O UM-B, IMAP, IMAP-O, Inbox	UM, IMAP-O, Inbox
Message Waiting Indicator synchronization	IMAP	UM-C, UM-D, UM-O UM-B, UM-G, UM-V, UM-GW, IMAP, IMAP-O, Inbox	UM, IMAP, IMAP-O, Inbox
Embedded DVR-style interface to play, pause, rewind, fast forward	Inbox	UM-C, UM-D, UM-O, UM-B, IMAP-O, Inbox	UM, IMAP-O, Inbox
Generic media player to play, pause, rewind, fast forward	X	X	X
Respond to voice mail with email		X	UM
Forward voice mail via email		X	UM
Apply inbox rules to voice and fax mail		IMAP	X
Access voice mail via Cisco Jabber for Mac		X
Access voice mail via Cisco Jabber for iPad		X
Access voice mail via Cisco Jabber for Windows		X
Access voice mail via IBM Lotus Sametime	IMAP	X	X
Access voice mail via Cisco Unified Communications Integration for Microsoft Office Communicator and Lync	IMAP	X
RSS inbox reader		X
End User Features
Video Greetings		X
Personal web administration via Cisco Personal Communications Assistant	X	X	X
Full or brief TUI menus	X	X	X
Change prompt and message playback speed		X	X
Address/record or record/address message		X	X
Record multiple personal greetings	8 greetings	7 greetings	5 greetings
Holiday schedule and greeting	X	X
Alternate greeting - expiration date/time, notify users, play full greeting for callers, forward to greeting without ringing phone	X	X	X
Record separate sets of greetings in different languages		X
Message notification - SMTP text, pager, phone destinations, SMS	X	X	X
Intelligent Notifications (HTML-based notifications with actionable links) – Supports .wav file attachments		X
Cascade message notifications	X	X	X
Voicemail Quota Notifications		X
Announce/don't announce message counts (total, saved, new)	X	X	X
Announce/don't announce transferred call		X	X
Send callers to call, directory, or interview handlers	X	X	X
Select order of message receipt (LIFO/FIFO, type) via GUI	VoiceView Express, Inbox	X	X
RIM BlackBerry support		Via Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator	X
Nokia Symbian support		Via Cisco Mobile and Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator
Apple iPhone support		Via Cisco Jabber
Android support		Via Cisco Jabber
Message monitor (live call screening)			X
Interrupted Session Recovery		X	X
Alternate extensions	X	X	X
Private distribution lists	X	X	X
Include non-subscribers in distribution lists	X
PIN-less login to voice mailbox	X	X	Via trusted extension
Address messages to frequently used names		X
Customizable subject lines (for visual voicemail)		X
Voice message store and forward (to external mailbox)		X
Announce if message has been sent to multiple recipients		X
Listen to names of all recipients of a message		X
Outside callers can mark messages as private		X
Speech-to-Text: voicemail transcripts in e-mail (Cisco SpeechView feature)		X
Call Transfer Features
Route incoming calls by caller ID		X
Route incoming calls by time of day	X	X
Route incoming calls by calendar (free/busy on Exchange)		X
Simple transfer and screening		X	X
Subscriber zero-out	X
Transfer to alternate contact number		Up to 12 numbers	X
Disable transfer prompts		X
Speech Recognition Interface (ASR)**
Voice dial directory, personal contacts		X	Subscriber Address Menu Only
Play and process messages (repeat, reply, forward, delete, save, mark as new, hear day or time stamp, skip to next message)		X	X
Pause, resume, speed up, slow down, skip ahead, skip back commands		X
Edit and manage personal greetings		X
Speech access to meetings in Cisco Unified Meeting Place, Unified Meeting Place Express, and Outlook		X
Allow users to speak voicemail passwords		X
Allow users to speak time and dates		X
Toggle between speech recognition and touch-tone conversations		X
Speech-Enabled Automated Attendant (Speech Connect Feature)
Dial by saying the name of person or department you want to contact		X	X
Hear the contact’s name in their own recorded voice		X	X
Configure as a speed dial on the phone		X	X
Support up to 100,000 names in the speech directory		X	X
Partition support (limit the directory search scope to a certain population of employees)		X
Deploy on the voice messaging server		X	Separate Server Required
Email Access Via Text-To-Speech
Play, repeat, save messages		X	X
Process messages (delete, save as new, reply, forward, skip, hear day or time stamp)			X
List and play supported message attachments		X
IP Phone Services
Visual Voicemail for Unified IP Phones	X	X	X
Manage messages	X	X	X
Manage mailbox settings	X
Icon representation of urgent messages	X	X	X
Display user's message store capacity percentage	X
Sort messages by caller, date, type, priority	X	X	X
Search messages by caller, sender, date, CLID, priority		X	X
Time card management application	X
Fax
T.37 inbound & outbound simple fax	X		X
Cisco Fax Server	X	X	X
Third-party fax server		X	X
Single phone number for voice calls and fax transmissions	X	X
Localizations
English (US-ENU)	X	X	X
TTD/TTY		X	X
Languages supported (see individual solution guides for details)	24	29	28
Enterprise Deployment
System networking	X	X (HTTPS Networking, new in 10.0 and later; supports up to 25 locations and 250,000 objects (up to 100,000 users and an additional 150,000 system/VPIM contacts) in the directory)	X
Advanced Cisco Unity Connection to Cisco Unity networking		X	X
Multiple Sites	X	X	X
VPIM	X	X	X
AMIS			X
Cisco Unity Bridge			X
Redundancy		X	X
Survivable Remote Site Voicemail deployment at the branch		X (35 branches, 500 users per branch) Includes MWI support at branch
Search space and partition support		X
Support on virtual server		X	X
Single Sign-On for browser applications		X (SAML-based, includes OAuth 2.0 support)
Tenant Partitioning		X
Support for Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)		X
Telephony Environments
Cisco Unified Communications Manager	X	X	X
Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express	X	X	X
Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition		X
Cisco Unified SIP Proxy		X	X
Legacy PBX via PBX IP Media Gateway (PIMG)		X	X
Multiple Simultaneous Integrations		X	X
Serial Integrations (via PIMG)		X	X
Analog Integrations (via PIMG)		X	X
QSIG-enabled PBX integration via Cisco Integrated Services Router (ISR)		X	X
QSIG-enabled PBX integration via Cisco Unified Communications Manager		X	X
Support for E.164 formatted phone numbers	X	X
SIP Early Offer		X
URI Dialing support via Alternate Extensions		X
Security Features
Cisco Security Agent			X
Password and PIN policy options	X	X	X
Call-restriction tables - prevent toll fraud	X	X	X
Secure, private messaging	X	X	X (with encryption)
Secure delete		X
Security event logging	X	X	X
User PIN reset	X	X	X
Message archiving utilities		X	X
Message aging policies for group or per-user	X	X	X (group only)
Support HTTPS for secure web access	X	X	X
Secure Signaling and Media		X	X
RSA Secure-ID 2-factor one-time PIN authentication interface			X
Secured Hash Algorithm for PIN and web password	SHA-1	SHA-1, MD-5	SHA-1, MD-5
Multi-Server SAN Certificate Support		X
SELinux Policies		X
NTLMv2 for Single Inbox Authentication		X
Interactive Voice Response
Database integration (Oracle 10g, Sybase 15.0, IBM DB2 v9.1, MSDE, and MsSQL 2000)	X
IVR Web application development	X
HTTP Support	X
Create Automated Attendant scripts through GUI	X
Outbound email and fax notification	X
Historical and real-time reporting on IVR	X
Administration
Admin interface	Web & CLI	Web & CLI	Web
Bulk administrative update tool		X
Password synchronization with Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express	X
Installation	< 30 min	<1 hour	Approx 4 hours
Post-installation auto configuration	X
Factory default source configuration file	X
Reports	X	X	X
Representational State Transfer (REST)-based application programming interfaces (APIs) for end users, provisioning, messaging, telephony, and notification	X	X
System Broadcast	X	X	X
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) support	X	X	X
Message handling actions (determines how specific types of messages are handled)		X
Auto-Attendant unlimited levels	X	X	X
Directory, Call, Interview Handlers		X	X
Dispatch messaging		X
Alternate TUI Key Mappings		X	X
Custom Key Mapping		X	X
Hospitality integration			X
Share subscriber licenses among networked servers (license pooling)		X	X
Enterprise License Management		X
Scheduled online backup (one-time and recurring), including notification	X
Support for subscriber information dump, Consolidated Object Backup and Restore Application Suite (COBRAS) tool, port usage analyzer, and public distribution list builder		X
Application and database audit logging		X
IPv6 support		X

* Desktop Messaging Abbreviations

VM = Voice Messaging

IM = Integrated Messaging

UM = Unified Messaging with (Microsoft Exchange or IBM Lotus Domino) Message Store

UM-E = UM with Microsoft Exchange Message Store

UM-D = UM with IBM Lotus Domino and Cisco Unity Connection Message Store ( ***via Esnatech and Donoma Software)

UM-C = UM with Microsoft Exchange and Cisco Unity Connection Message Store

UM-B = UM with Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite - Dedicated (BPOS-D) and Cisco Unity Connection Message Store

UM-O = UM with Microsoft Office 365 and Cisco Unity Connection Message Store

UM-G = UM with Google Mail and Cisco Unity Connection Message Store ( ***via Esnatech)

UM-V = UM with VMWare Zimbra and Cisco Unity Connection Message Store ( ***via Esnatech)

UM-GW = UM with Novell GroupWise and Cisco Unity Connection Message Store ( ***via Esnatech and Donoma Software)

IMAP = Access to voice mails via IMAP Client

IMAP-O = Access to voice mails via IMAP Client, using VMO (ViewMail for Microsoft Outlook plug-in)

Inbox = Browser based voicemail inbox access