Social media influencers have been told by a will-writing service that they will be able to transfer their accounts to a family or friend when they die – but Instagram say accounts can only be ‘memorialised’ and not used for profit.
Bequests, based in the UK, has launched a scheme on its website that claims to allow those who make money online to pass their asset, an Instagram account, over in their Last Will and Testament.
However, Instagram told FEMAIL it is against policy for people to transfer ownership of Instagram accounts, including in wills.
Bequest’s scheme calculates the value of an Instagram account based on its number of followers.
According to the website, accounts are worth £0.0033 per follower, meaning a high profile account such as Kim Kardashian West’s – which boasts almost 200 million followers – is worth a whopping £542,922.16.
Will-writing service Bequests, based in the UK, has launched a scheme that calculates the value of an Instagram account based on its number of followers (file image)
The value is based on the amount it claims each account makes through sponsored posts and brand collaborations.
A Bequests spokesman said: ‘With 203 million followers footballer Cristiano Ronaldo’s Instagram profile is worth £675,990 and pop legend Beyonce’s is worth £466,200 with 140 million followers on her account.
‘At these values, it’s clear that social media accounts are worth protecting in the event of death with the ownership of the digital asset needing a beneficiary in order to stop its activity from lapsing.’
It is unclear exactly how Bequest intends to transfer an Instagram account over to another person on the death of the account holder.
By providing proof of death anyone can request an Instagram account be memorialised, but ownership cannot be transferred, according to the platform.
Last year Kylie Jenner defended her position as the highest-paid star on Instagram, earning up to $1.2 million (£998,406) per post
Once memorialised, the account cannot be logged into or changed in any way – posts, likes, followers, tags and comments stay on Instagram and are visible to the audience they were shared with.
Only an immediate family member producing a birth or death certificate as well as proof of their relationship can request for the account to be deleted entirely.
A Bequests spokesman added: ‘We can’t divulge into our exact process, but it is compliant with Instagram’s policy.
It is unclear how an Instagram account would be transferred over to another person on the death of the account holder, even if it is included within a will (file image)
‘Twitter has a similar policy and you will notice that celebrities such as David Bowie or Michael Jackson still have content being updated on their profiles, long after they have been deceased.’
‘We have seen an increase in demand from customers wanting to ensure their digital properties are passed on to a beneficiary, which is why we have provided this as a service.’
Last year Kylie Jenner defended her position as the highest-paid star on Instagram, earning up to $1.2 million (£998,406) per post.
According to Bequests her account is worth £554,024.66.
The 21-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashian’s star has accumulated a whopping 166 million followers on the social media platform.
Regularly posting selfies, promotional photos for her skincare brand Kylie Skin, and fun shots with friends and family, Kylie has also earned quite an impressive amount of money through her posts.
According to the Instagram Rich List, the mother-of-one is estimated to charge $1,266,000 (£1,053,242.37) per post on average.
Last year, she placed first on the list, as it was revealed that she earned up to $1 million (£831,945) per single post on the photo-sharing app.