The question of disposition of blogs, left behind by deceased blog owners, comes up in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, from time to time.
As Blogger blogs - and similar Google products - become mature, and as more people who publish Blogger blogs become susceptible to old age and death, this problem will become more critical. As recently as 2010, in order to assume control (or request deletion) of such a blog, Blogger required only a faxed copy of the death certificate.
In 2013, Google refined the recovery process, and added additional requirements for account recovery.
Google is being careful to protect actively owned blogs, from misuse of the "deceased" owner recovery process.
They want to encourage that we honour each deceased, by ensuring that nobody can steal your family member's identity, and blog. The death certificate is only one part of a formal procedure, which Blogger / Google now uses, in the dual role of
Deceased account recovery is now a four step process.
It is possible that the blog owner planned for disposal of her / his blog, which could prevent you from assuming control - or even viewing the blog, using Google: Inactive Account Manager.
Both compassion for bereaved - and due diligence, and security, are righteous.
Both Compassion and Due Diligence are righteous goals - and are needed to help Google reduce hijacking of active Blogger blogs.
As part of an improved procedure for disposition of Blogger blogs left behind by deceased owners, Blogger now uses Google Help: Submit a request regarding a deceased user's account as guidelines. The new guidelines
The preliminary review specifies a facsimile transmission / postal mail address:
and a formal list of material required, for Part 1 - preliminary review.
When specified by Blogger Support, we were instructed to substitute the blog URL, for the Gmail address (as #5). No addendum referencing the email message (as #7) was provided.
The instructions for Part 2 are not as well defined, as for Part 1.
These requirements may seem onerous to the less observant. Actually, by formalising the process, this should reduce the number of fraudulent claims, and make it easier for Google personnel to legitimately process claims, while exercising both compassion and due diligence.
As Blogger blogs - and similar Google products - become mature, and as more people who publish Blogger blogs become susceptible to old age and death, this problem will become more critical. As recently as 2010, in order to assume control (or request deletion) of such a blog, Blogger required only a faxed copy of the death certificate.
In 2013, Google refined the recovery process, and added additional requirements for account recovery.
Google is being careful to protect actively owned blogs, from misuse of the "deceased" owner recovery process.
They want to encourage that we honour each deceased, by ensuring that nobody can steal your family member's identity, and blog. The death certificate is only one part of a formal procedure, which Blogger / Google now uses, in the dual role of
- Compassion, in allowing a friend or loved one to appropriately assume control of blogs left behind.
- Due Diligence, in preventing fraudulent claims by people who have no legal or moral right to assume control of blogs.
Deceased account recovery is now a four step process.
- Documentation, including a copy of the death certificate - and a copy of email headers, from the family member email.
- Google Legal verifies Step #1.
- Certification of your relationship with the family member, using a local judge. and a court order.
- Google Legal reviews Step #3.
It is possible that the blog owner planned for disposal of her / his blog, which could prevent you from assuming control - or even viewing the blog, using Google: Inactive Account Manager.
Both compassion for bereaved - and due diligence, and security, are righteous.
Both Compassion and Due Diligence are righteous goals - and are needed to help Google reduce hijacking of active Blogger blogs.
As part of an improved procedure for disposition of Blogger blogs left behind by deceased owners, Blogger now uses Google Help: Submit a request regarding a deceased user's account as guidelines. The new guidelines
- Use a two part process - a preliminary review, followed by a formal court documented process.
- Include a dedicated facsimile transmission / postal mail address.
- Include additional requirements, which formally identify the relationship of the person requesting control of the blog in question, to the deceased.
The preliminary review specifies a facsimile transmission / postal mail address:
Google Inc.
Gmail User Support - Decedents’ Accounts
c/o Google Custodian of Records
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
Fax: 650-644-0358
and a formal list of material required, for Part 1 - preliminary review.
- Your full name.
- Your physical mailing address.
- Your email address.
- A photocopy of your government-issued ID or driver’s license.
- The Gmail address of the deceased user.
- The death certificate of the deceased user. If the document is not in English, please provide a certified English translation prepared by a competent translator and notarized.
- The following information from an email message that you have received at your email address, from the Gmail address in question:
- The full header from the email message. See instructions on how to find headers in Gmail and other webmail email providers. Copy everything from 'Delivered-To:' through the 'References:' line
- The entire content of the message
When specified by Blogger Support, we were instructed to substitute the blog URL, for the Gmail address (as #5). No addendum referencing the email message (as #7) was provided.
The instructions for Part 2 are not as well defined, as for Part 1.
Part 2 will require you to get additional legal process including an order from a U.S. court and/or submitting additional materials. Please note that submitting these materials will not guarantee that we will be able to provide Gmail content so we recommend not embarking on Part 2 until you hear back from us regarding Part 1.
These requirements may seem onerous to the less observant. Actually, by formalising the process, this should reduce the number of fraudulent claims, and make it easier for Google personnel to legitimately process claims, while exercising both compassion and due diligence.
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