What happens to your social media after death? Meta’s AI patent reveals the truth
Meta has received a patent for an AI system that could simulate a user’s online behaviour after death or during long inactivity. The company says it has no plans to launch the feature, but the concept raises ethical and privacy concerns.
Have you ever wondered about those who are no longer alive, but have their social media pages kept you wondering about what actually happens to your social media when you die? It’s a weird question, though, but it’s one people think about but never get the right answer to. Turns out, Meta has been thinking about it, too – and they are looking at AI for answers.
Meta picked up a patent back in December 2025 for a system that would let artificial intelligence take over and act like you on social media. The patent, which they filed in 2023, credits Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s CTO. The gist? They want to use a big language model trained on everything you’ve done online – your posts, comments, likes, messages, and your whole digital personality.
Basically, the idea is to build a digital twin. This AI 'you' could keep posting, commenting, and even chatting, doing its best to sound like you always have.
How would the AI simulation work?
The patent explains that the AI system would be trained on historical activity, such as:
- Previous posts
- Comments
- Likes and reactions
- Messaging patterns
- General online behaviour
Well, the AI would study your history – old posts, how you chat, replies, what you like, all of it. Then, if you disappear for a while, either because you’re taking a break or because you have passed away, the AI could step in and keep your account going. Meta’s documents point out that when someone vanishes permanently, it really affects their online friends and family. An AI version of you might soften that blow, or at least help people cope.
Rise of ‘Grief Tech’
This whole thing fits into a new category called “Grief Tech”—basically, tech that tries to preserve or recreate people after they are gone. Several companies are already exploring this space:
- Replika
- You, Only Virtual
- Microsoft, which patented a chatbot simulating deceased individuals in 2021
The idea is to help people who are grieving by letting them interact with a digital version of someone they lost. Of course, this opens a can of worms. There are a tonne of ethical and privacy questions.
Consent – for one, would people actually want this? And what if it is misused?
What if you are just inactive?
Meta’s patent is not just about death. They also mention using AI to fill in when someone’s just away for a while, so their account stays active. Good for the platform’s engagement numbers, sure—but it also raises questions about what’s real and what’s not.
Even with the attention, Meta says they are not actually moving ahead with this. They file patents for all sorts of experimental stuff that never sees the light of day. So, for now, this is just an idea on paper.
Still, it is pretty wild to see how much AI is starting to blur the line between our digital selves and who we actually are.