Getting Access To Email Of The Deceased
from the not-fun-at-all... dept
Earlier this year, we wrote about the growing issue of what happens to your online persona after you pass away. As we noted at that time, there really isn't a standard procedure for how to clean up a loved one's online accounts -- especially since most are password protected. This is becoming an issue with one family whose son was killed in Iraq earlier this year. They're now trying to get access to his Yahoo Mail account, but Yahoo refuses, noting that the terms of service say that your account can be... um... terminated upon death. The family is trying to get Yahoo to change their mind before the 90 day period which Yahoo uses to judge whether or not an account is active. After that, the entire account will be deleted. So far, it appears that Yahoo's basic response to the family is: "That really sucks, but too bad."
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The sands of time
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Yahoo is right
Who says that a person's right to privacy is gone at the time of death? Maybe the soldier didn't want his family to have access to his emails.
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Yahoo!
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Re: Yahoo! != safe deposit box
If I was in this situation, I'd be in court suing Yahoo's collective ass. The Terms of Service contract _ends_ with the deceased's death. I don't see how this is different from a safe deposit box, which is property of the deceased's estate and passes to the family or executor.
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Re: Yahoo! != safe deposit box
Or, say, the PASSWORD?????
Again, unless it is in the will, it does not automatically belong to the family.
Who is the executor in this case?
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Re: Yahoo! == safe deposit box but is email == pro
I don't see how Yahoo! has a legal leg to stand on with this issue as all contracts cease with the passing of the owner of the account. If they destroy property that's part of the estate of a deceased, they're in big trouble. Now, is email property thats inheritable?
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Re: Yahoo! == safe deposit box but is email == pro
One doesn't pay for a free Yahoo email account.
Yahoo is correct on this one.
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Yahoo should be fully supported
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Re: Yahoo should be fully supported
This is not being overly conservative, this is protecting an individuals right to privacy. Kudos to Yahoo.
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Re: Yahoo should be fully supported
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my family wants access to her Yahoo account so we can pass along emails to/from her BF that may assist the investigation. Yahoo really needs to help us out on this, and i have been searching for answers online as to how to contact Yahoo, info on getting access to a deceased person's email, etc. for days. i know this article is old and my sister's case isn't like this dead marine's, but i really hope Yahoo can help my family by giving us access to her account so we can give the investigators any information that may be in her account that may shed light on the events leading to her death.
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i lost me wife of 35 a week and a half a go. and the last time we spoke the night before she died(i was out of town)she was on yahoo i.m and i was texting through my yahoo account. we i.m.ed each other most of the week when i was away. she always saved her messages in her i.m. i dont remember every word but i do know one of the last things she typed was that she missed me and my son who was with me... all i want is her email password to read those last conversations i had with my wife, mother of my son and the first and only love of my life of 17yrs.
i havent tried to call and tell them my story i can barely type this but if they cant help me i will delete my account of 10 years for good.
the yahoo way:
"No Right of Survivorship and Non-Transferability. You agree that your Yahoo! account is non-transferable and any rights to your Yahoo! ID or contents within your account terminate upon your death. Upon receipt of a copy of a death certificate, your account may be terminated and all contents therein permanently deleted."
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