Who Owns Your Digital Life After Death?

When we think of inheritance in India, our minds jump to ancestral land, bank accounts, jewelry, maybe even the old car. But in today's hyper-digital world, there is an invisible asset most of us overlook that is our digital legacy. Photos stored in the cloud, WhatsApp messages, Instagram accounts, Google Drives, YouTube monetized channels, crypto wallets, online subscriptions, blogs including digital art, these are all extensions of who we are.

The burning question is: What happens to all this when we die?

I never thought I would ask myself this but who inherits my Instagram when I die? Not just Instagram. These things have emotional, social, even financial value. But if I die tomorrow, there is no clear law in India that tells my family what happens to them. We have got succession laws for houses and gold, but what about our digital footprints? They are completely unaccounted for.

What Indian laws say and do not say: A Legal Blind Spot in India

• There is no clear legislative framework in India dealing with digital inheritance.
• India has over 850 million internet users, with many digital entrepreneurs, influencers, and crypto investors.
• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, covers data privacy only for living individuals.
• The Information Technology Act, 2000, does not mention posthumous digital rights.
• Families rely on tech company policies, often rooted in US law, leading to uncertainty.

Other Countries

• In the US, the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) permits access with court approval.
• Germany's 2018 Federal Court decision allows inheritance of Facebook accounts like letters or diaries.
• India still treats digital inheritance as a non-pressing issue.

Real Stories: When Digital Death Hits Home

• Gaurav Sabnis: His friend's family struggled to access a deceased brother's Gmail account. Google denied access citing privacy.
• Bengaluru case: A mother couldn't access her son's Facebook and WhatsApp messages after his death due to Meta's policies.
• Pandemic story: A woman lost lakhs in Bitcoin after her husband died from COVID, as he alone held the private keys.
• These are no longer rare events — they reflect a growing legal void.

Why this Gap Matters — To You and I

• We live dual lives — physical and digital — but laws recognize only the former.
• A deceased content creator's YouTube revenue could vanish without legal provision.
• Crypto assets are at risk of being lost if not recognized as inheritable property.
• Denied access to final messages affects emotional closure for grieving families.

Where the Law Needs to Change

• Recognize digital assets as real, intangible, inheritable property.
• Allow executors legal access or deletion rights if the will provides consent.
• Legalize and recognize digital wills.
• Empower a central authority (e.g., CERT-In or MEITY) to oversee posthumous data management.

While the Law Sleeps, We Can:

• Write a will, even in your 20s, explicitly mentioning digital assets.
• Use digital legacy tools — Google's Inactive Account Manager, Facebook's Legacy Contact.
• Store passwords securely using tools like Bitwarden or LastPass, and share instructions with a trusted contact.

Conclusion
We always think estate planning is for the elderly. But digital life does not follow that logic. Our data lives in servers across the world, bound by contracts we never read and laws that do not yet exist. The silence of Indian law on digital legacy is not just inconvenient it is unjust.

As someone who spends time online, I want my digital life to mean something even after I am gone. Not just legally, but personally, maybe all of us do too.

Written By: Tanatswa Kimberly Mukaadira, BBA, LLB hons Lovely Professional University