Three German doctors are attempting to create a smartphone app that lets users create their own digital memorial to send to loved ones after they pass away.

Named Vidernity, the free app allows users to record, edit and save videos onto a third-party online storage service, such as Dropbox or iCloud.

Users can then choose to grant access of these digital assets to family members and friends. Although recipients will be alerted that they will be granted access, they will be unable to see the video until it is released upon the user’s death.

The idea for the app came in 2005 after the creators’ friend died in a motorcycle accident in his early twenties.

34 year old co-founder Dr Balázs Marton said, "We treat people every day, and their last thoughts before the 'inevitable' are always friends and family."

The app will send the user a push notification periodically to confirm the user is still alive. If there is no response after a certain time, first the user, then their trustees will be contacted to check if the user is alive. If the user does not respond and the trustees confirm the death, the videos will be released to their designated recipients.

Although the ‘direct’ communication with users through the app could help families in the grieving process, it’s not always the case for other digital assets.

Prior to Facebook’s policy change, an Oregon mother in 2013 had to battle hard with the social network to gain access to her deceased son’s account to save photos, messages and other digital items in an attempt to preserve his memory.

Visual social media accounts which carry sentimental value including Facebook and Instagram can be complex to manage, said Judy Hayward principal of Hayward & Co. Lawyers, Wills & Estates Australia.

“Each provider has a different way of managing this and the terms and conditions for each one is very different,” she said. “The terms are always changing.”

Facebook allows users to choose a ‘legacy contact’ to manage the account in their absence. Twitter deactivates accounts when a family member contacts them with proof of death. The account will then be permanently deleted after 30 days of deactivation.

On Instagram, family and friends can choose to memorialise an account or present a death certificate with other documentation if they want to remove an Instagram account.

“Not everyone wants their life story open indefinitely. If they do want it accessible, for how long?,” said Hayward.

Although families are often interested in memorialising the social media profiles of the deceased to maintain the emotional connection, closing digital accounts is also important, said Pedram Afshar co-founder of online account management firm eClosure.

“For email and trading accounts that can hold business information, generally customers choose to close it, - and the reason why people choose to close it is privacy and identity theft,” he said.

Accounts of the deceased are targeted by identity fraudsters, with approximately one in four cases of identify theft in the U.S. belonging to a deceased account.

“There’s always a chance of people getting access and causing emotional and financial harm,” said Afshar.

If the Vidernity project reaches its target of €7,999 (approximately AU$12,200) on its Kickstarter funding campaign, the app is expected to be available for beta testing in 2016.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below.

RELATED STORIES