Facebook to keep profiles of the dead

BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer

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By Jason Overholt

Story Created: Oct 27, 2009 at 8:37 AM EST

Story Updated: Oct 27, 2009 at 8:37 AM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — Death doesn't erase the online footprints that people leave in life and Facebook won't either, though it will make some changes.

The five-year-old social network will "memorialize" profiles of the dead if their friends or family request it.

Such accounts will be different from regular Facebook profiles.

For example, the site will remove any contact information and bar people from logging in. The person's profile also won't appear in the "suggestions" section of Facebook, and only the deceased person's confirmed friends will be able to find them in a search.

The development comes as Facebook becomes an important social hub for its more than 300 million active users worldwide to keep up with friends and family.

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