Social Media Resting Place with Trusted Contact Access

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Solution Overview

Problem

Social media accounts pose challenges after death due to privacy filters, access restrictions, emotional distress, security vulnerabilities, and varying legacy preferences, with existing solutions failing to provide comprehensive management and preservation.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for establishing a social media resting place that allows users to appoint executors, set conditions for data retention and access, and curate content based on predefined preferences, ensuring secure and customizable management of digital legacies.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If social media accounts are memorialized with restricted access, then privacy and emotional protection are improved, but accessibility and ease of management for family members deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveemotional distress and privacy protectionVSAvoidaccessibility for family members

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Users pre-designate trusted contacts and define access preferences before death, enabling automatic account transfer without requiring family members to navigate complex memorialization processes or prove relationship during grief

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces a trusted contact as an intermediary who receives account access after death, mediating between the deceased's digital legacy and surviving family members, thereby protecting privacy while enabling controlled access

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If proof of death and relationship verification are required, then account security is improved, but access complexity and time required deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccount securityVSAvoidaccess verification process

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Users pre- designate trusted contacts and define access preferences before death, enabling automatic account transfer without requiring family members to navigate complex memorialization processes or prove relationship during grief

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses pre-configured trusted contact information and digital legacy instructions left by the user themselves, eliminating the need for external verification of death or relationship by social media providers

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Loss of information

If social media content is preserved indefinitely, then digital legacy is improved, but potential for misinformation and unfavorable portrayal increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedigital legacy preservationVSAvoidmisinformation and unfavorable portrayal

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Users pre-specify which content should be preserved, archived, or deleted after death, and provide contextual explanations for their digital legacy preferences, ensuring their wishes are honored without requiring postmortem interpretation by family members

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates an archive copy of selected social media content with embedded contextual information and user intentions, separating the preserved legacy from the active social media account that continues to be moderated by the platform

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

4Duration of action of stationary object

If social media providers maintain memorialized accounts, then digital presence is preserved, but control and customization for family preferences deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveduration of digital presenceVSAvoidcustomization for family preferences

Core Design Contradiction:

Duration of action of stationary objectVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts control over the deceased's digital legacy from the social media provider's memorialization system, allowing family members to manage and customize the digital presence according to the deceased's pre-specified preferences rather than platform defaults

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS20250307954A1Systems and method for a social media resting place

Publication Date: 2025.10.02 MURRAY WILLIAM DAVID

AI summary

Social media content can be retained post-humous by establishing a digital cemetery plot for a deceased individual, who when living was an account holder of a plurality of social media accounts, each provided by a different social media platform. The digital cemetery plot is provided by a resting place platform, which indexes content of the social media accounts in accordance with a plurality of different group categories, each having a group-defined relationship with the deceased individual. A family portion of content from the social media accounts is associated with a family group. A work portion of content from the social media accounts is associated with a work group. A member of the family group accessing the digital cemetery plot is presented with the family portion of content. A member of the work group accessing the digital cemetery plot is presented with the work portion of content.