Facebook now lets you decide what happens to your profile when you die

Facebook rolled out a new update Thursday to let you decide what happens to your Facebook profile after you die.

You can now choose a "legacy contact" who can manage your account when you pass away or tell Facebook that you want your profile permanently deleted.

Your legacy contact won't be able to log in as you or read your private messages, but they will be able to:

• Write a post to display at the top of your memorialized Timeline (to share a special message or announce a memorial service)
• Respond to new friend requests
• Update your profile picture and cover photo
• Download an archive of the photos, posts, and profile information that you shared on Facebook (required special permission)

"Until now, when someone passed away, we offered a basic memorialized account which was viewable, but could not be managed by anyone," Facebook writes in its blog post. "By talking to people who have experienced loss, we realized there is more we can do to support those who are grieving and those who want a say in what happens to their account after death."

To choose your legacy contact, open "settings," choose "security", and then make your way to "legacy contact" at the bottom of the page.

Facebook has also redesigned its memorialized profiles, and will now add "Remembering" above their name:

Facebook is rolling out these changes in the US first, but plans to expand to more regions.