Ever wonder what will happen with all the data tied to your online accounts after you’re no longer around? Perhaps that’s not something many of us have given much thought to, but as more of our data lives online, it’s a genuine concern that Google hopes to address. Today the company launched a new tool called "Inactive Account Manager" that lets you decide what to do with your stuff after 3, 6, 9, or 12 months of inactivity.
Available in Google's settings, the feature allows you to set a timeout period for your account, and from there you’re basically given two options: share access to specific services under your Google accounts with up to ten trusted friends and family members or have the account deleted altogether.
In the first scenario your contacts will be notified with a custom-written email and optionally given access to data from any or all Google services. Currently, you can choose to send data from Blogger, Contacts and Circles, Drive, Gmail, Google+ Profiles, Pages and Streams, Picasa Web Albums, Google Voice and YouTube, as well as your entire +1 history from across the web. Before sharing any of your data though, Google will warn you via a text message or an email to a secondary address to give you one last chance to prove you still have a pulse.
It’s worth noting that Google won’t actually give out your account password to any contact, just the data you specify. This means other people won’t be able to send emails or post things online on your behalf. In Google’s words, it’s designed so you can plan your digital afterlife in a way that protects your privacy and security.
