How to Turn a Facebook Page Into a Memorial

When a loved one passes, you can complete the Memorialization Request form (link in Resources) to ask Facebook to convert the person's personal profile to a memorial page. Facebook will then conduct an investigation using the proof of passing -- you are invited to submit the URL of a published obituary or news article referencing the death -- and complete the conversion to a tribute page. According to the form's options, anyone on the user's Friends list can request this investigation, including immediate and extended family or those who are considered non-family -- like a friend, co-worker or classmate.

Once an account is memorialized, Facebook will implement privacy settings so only confirmed friends of the deceased user can see the profile or locate it in search results. All of the user's sensitive information -- contact data and past status updates, for example -- are removed. Friends and family can then continue leaving posts on the profile's Timeline and the memorialized account is locked from outside view -- in other words, no user who is not listed as a friend can log into it, tag it or post new content.

In lieu of memorializing a current page, you can also create a new Facebook group or page with the purpose of making it a tribute to a deceased person. These are effective not only for honoring an individual who does not have an active Facebook profile, but also in a situation where you want to invite other users who are not currently listed as friends of the person who has passed. If you choose to memorialize an individual with a page or group, your first step is determining which will work best for your needs.

Facebook pages -- as well as information and posts published on the page -- are completely public to all Facebook users and are designed to offer a large group of people a centralized point of communication. New posts appear in the news feeds of those who have liked it and page admins can track ongoing activity. To create one, click on the "Pages" header in the side menu and then click the "+ Create Page" button. Follow the prompts to enter information about the deceased individual, then invite friends to like it so others are encouraged to engage in the memorial.

Groups provide a virtual space for smaller groups of people to communicate about the deceased individual and allow for additional privacy settings that cannot be implemented with a page. Like pages, posts are visible to those who have joined the conversation, but members must first be approved or added by other members. Members can then participate in group chats and share content -- like photos and group documents. To create a group, click the "Groups" header on the left side of your Facebook page and then click "Create Group" and follow the on-screen prompts.