Week 17 Your Digital Afterlife  and more

LastPass accounts (ChatGPT)

If a LastPass account holder passes away and their subscription comes up for renewal, the account's status depends on whether the subscription is renewed:

• If the subscription is not renewed: The account will downgrade to a free LastPass account. This means the user will retain access to their existing stored passwords but may lose access to premium features. The account remains open, but functionality is limited compared to the premium version.

• If the subscription is renewed: The account continues with all premium features intact.

It's important to note that LastPass does not automatically close accounts due to non-renewal; instead, they transition to the free tier with limited features.

To ensure that trusted individuals can access your LastPass vault in the event of your death, consider setting up Emergency Access. This feature allows you to designate trusted contacts who can request access to your vault. If the request isn't denied within a specified wait time, access is granted.

Without Emergency Access set up, LastPass cannot provide access to your vault, even with proof of death, due to their zero-knowledge security model.

Recommendations:

• Set up Emergency Access: Designate trusted individuals who can access your vault if needed.

• Share Master Password Securely: Consider securely sharing your master password with a trusted person or storing it in a secure location accessible upon your death.

• Maintain Subscription: Ensure your subscription is active to retain premium features, or be aware that the account will downgrade to the free tier upon non-renewal.

Taking these steps can help ensure that your digital assets are accessible to those you trust after your passing

Concerned about data privacy?  Review of DeleteMe, a data removal service

A student asked about DeleteMe, a service which removes data from data broker websites.  I have used it, but was not that impressed.  Nevertheless, I did deep research on Perplexity.ai  to find more about this service and whether I could recommend it.  

Here is a summary of the deep research from Perplexity:

DeleteMe is a privacy service that helps remove your personal information from websites that collect and sell it (AKA data brokers). These brokers gather details like your name, address, phone number, and more—then sell it to advertisers, employers, or scammers.

How It Works:

• You sign up and give DeleteMe your personal info.

• They search for your data on people-search sites.

• Human privacy experts request your info be taken down.

• You get a privacy report every 3 months showing what they removed.

• Service costs $129 per year.

Benefits:

• Reduces scam calls and spam emails.

• Helpful for older adults who want personal support—DeleteMe has live chat, phone, and email help.

• Works on major people-search sites like Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified.

• Offers email and phone masking for added protection.

 Limitations:

• Only 60–100 sites are covered automatically (not the “750+” advertised).

• You must find and request removals for many sites yourself (max of 40 per year).

• Reports only every 3 months, so new data might stay online for a while.

• No free trial, and you must upload a photo ID (even if it’s masked).

• Can't remove info from government, court, or social media sites.

• If you stop the service, your info may show up again.

Is It Right for You?

• Good if you want professional help and don’t want to do it yourself.

• Offers peace of mind, especially for older adults at higher risk of scams.

• But if you're on a tight budget or want faster updates, other services like Optery or Kanary might be better choices.

• Or, consider manual removal (DeleteMe offers free guides) with help from a family member.

If you want to read the entire report from Perplexity.ai, you can view it here.