Facebook has rolled out a new option in the security settings that allows you to control what happens on your facebook page after your demise. As morbid as the move may seem, a good number of deceased people prefer carrying on the legacy of their loved ones.

Account owners will choose a friend or relative who will henceforth be in charge of it until the preferred time which could be after three, six or nine months. The' Facebook Heir'  will be in a position to change their loved ones profile picture and cover photo, post status updates as well as accept friend requests in exception of receiving private messages.

The other option provided by Facebook is that the user's account can automatically get deleted once they pass away. There are a few decisions a user can make when choosing a legacy friend—you can give them permission to download everything you shared on Facebook, for example. In this case, Facebook offers a form message to send to your designated heir.

In 2013, Google became the first major internet companies to put control of data after death directly into the hands of its users. Google lets its users identify what they would like to happen to their data once they pass away or become inactive for a period of time. The user can choose to have the account inactivated or data passed to one or more people.

Facebook previously inactivated accounts upon learning of a user's demise. The platform later started offering a basic memorialized account which was viewable, but could not be managed by anyone. The new settings are currently available in the US first with plans to spread it to other countries underway.