The Instagram accounts of the late K-pop stars Sulli of f(x) and Goo Hara of KARA have been memorialized.
“Memorialized accounts are a place to remember and celebrate someone’s life after they have passed away,” according to a notice by Instagram.
Sulli died at age 25 on Oct. 14, 2019. Her body was found at her home in Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Her close friend, Goo Hara, 28, died on Nov. 24, 2019, just a little over a month after Sulli. Both died of extreme choices.
According to Instagram, memorialized accounts have the word “Remembering” next to the person’s name on the profile.
“No one can log into a memorialized account. Posts the deceased person shared, including photos and videos, stay on Instagram and are visible to the audience they were shared with. Memorialized accounts don't appear in certain places on Instagram, like Explore,” according to the popular social media platform’s Help section.
It added, “Once memorialized, no one will be able to make changes to any of the account's existing posts or information.”
This means that there will be no changes on the photos and videos uploaded by the person, comments on posts by the person on their profile, privacy settings and the current profile photo, followers or people the person follows, Instagram explained.
Instagram memorializes an account when it receives a valid request.
“We try to prevent references to memorialized accounts from appearing on Instagram in ways that may be upsetting to the person's friends and family, and we also take measures to protect the privacy of the deceased person by securing the account,” it said.
One needs to contact Instagram for an account to be memorialized and send “proof of death, such as a link to an obituary or news article, to memorialize an account.”
In addition, immediate family members can request Instagram to remove a loved one’s account by filling out a form and submitting the person’s birth certificate, death certificate and “proof of authority under local law that you are the lawful representative of the deceased person, or his/her estate.”