Japanese government tells citizens to put their passwords and usernames in
their will

Date:
Thu, 21 Nov 2024 17:29:00 +0000

Description:
Ever considered leaving your passwords in your will? The Japanese government
is asking its citizens to do just that.

FULL STORY

Japans National Consumer Affairs Center is urging citizens to leave their
usernames and passwords in their wills in its fight against unnecessary 
online content. 

Leaving family members access to their online accounts is hoped to ease the
burden on those who may struggle to manage the digital legacy of their
deceased family member. 

However, there is another positive side effect in that closing down unused
accounts will lessen the impact on data centers, therefore reducing
environmental damage associated with cloud storage .

Japanese citizens urged to share passwords in wills

Families often face difficulties cancelling subscriptions or closing down
accounts due to a lack of access to usernames and passwords, which can result
in complications in the best scenario, and ongoing expenses where frequent
payments are concerned. 

As part of its digital end-of-life planning proposition, Japan is asking its
citizens to ensure that family members can unlock devices in the event of
emergencies. 

On the more morbid side of things, the countrys residents are being asked to
keep a list of subscriptions, user IDs and passwords, and to store them in an
accessible place for family members to reach. 

The news is a welcome move given the widespread adoption of smartphones and
associated online accounts; the Center is anticipating an increasing number 
of unresolved digital affairs after people die. 

Some services already include such features. Meta and Apple are two companies
that allow users to assign legacy contacts to manage their accounts after
passing, however the reality is that most online accounts lack this
functionality. 

Moreover, to simplify matters, storing login credentials in a password 
manager and sharing only the login to that makes it much simpler to ensure
that all passwords are being passed on to family members. 

Via The Register

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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/japanese-government-tells-citizens-to-put-their-
passwords-and-usernames-in-their-will

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