Facebook is introducing a new ‘Tributes’ section for memorialized accounts

Facebook is rolling out a new feature for memorialized accounts that will allow people to leave messages in a Tributes section that is separate from the rest of the profile’s timeline. Depending on a memorialized account’s privacy settings, friends can currently still post on its timeline, including in the comments of posts the person made before they died. If a memorialized account has a Tributes section, however, posts made after the day it was memorialized (which prevents anyone else from logging in) will be placed there.

Some Facebook users who have designated “legacy contacts” to manage their accounts after they die were alerted to the new feature by a notification today that contained the euphemistic phrase “if your account is memorialized.”

A page on Facebook’s Help Center describes the new Tributes section “as a space on memorialized profiles where friends and family can post stories, commemorate a birthday, share memories and more.”

“Legacy contacts” will have more leeway over tribute posts than they do over the rest of the account. For example, they have the ability to decide who can see and post tributes and who can delete posts. They can also change who can see posts the deceased person is tagged in or remove the tag. If the account had timeline review turned on, the legacy contact will be able to turn it off for tribute posts. Posts made to a profile after it is memorialized will be separated into the Tributes section. The feature’s help page says “we do our best to separate tribute posts from timeline posts based on the info we’re given.”

Legacy contacts still can’t log into accounts, read private messages or remove and add friends.