A recently granted patent suggests Meta Platforms has explored technology that could keep social media accounts active even when users are no longer online—or no longer alive.
The patent, approved in late December, describes a system that uses a large language model to simulate how a person behaves on social media. The technology could generate posts, comments, and replies that resemble a user’s past activity, drawing on years of interactions such as likes, messages, and shared content.
According to the filing, the system is meant to step in when a user becomes absent from a platform. That absence could be temporary, such as a long break from social media. It could also be permanent, including cases where the user has died.
How the system would fill a digital absence
The document argues that when people stop posting, their absence affects others. Followers notice when a familiar voice disappears from their feeds. The patent says the effect is “much more severe and permanent” when a user is deceased and can never return.
Meta has patented AI that can run a dead person’s account, continuing to post and chat on their behalf
It can message and video call by replicating a user’s online behavior using their past data pic.twitter.com/2FiExpQmMl
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) February 16, 2026
To address that gap, the patent outlines the creation of a digital version of a user’s social media presence. The model would be trained on user-specific data to mimic tone, interests, and writing style. Once trained, it could interact with others by liking posts, commenting, or responding to private messages.
The filing also references tools that could allow the artificial system to simulate audio or video calls, creating more lifelike interactions.
Meta distances itself from the idea
The patent lists Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s chief technology officer, as its primary author. Company records show the application was first filed in 2023.
Meta has downplayed the significance of the document. A company spokesperson explained that there are no plans to develop or release the technology described in the patent. “We have no plans to move forward with this example,” the spokesperson said.
The company said patents are often filed to disclose concepts and protect early-stage ideas that may never become products.
Legal and ethical concerns around digital identity
Even so, the filing has raised concerns among experts who study digital identity and post-mortem privacy.
🦔 Meta was granted a patent for AI that would keep your social media accounts posting after you die. The system would train on your historical activity, including comments, likes, and content, to simulate how you behaved online. It could respond to DMs, comment on posts, and… pic.twitter.com/VsaRvKQJ8P
— Hedgie (@HedgieMarkets) February 14, 2026
Edina Harbinja, a professor at the University of Birmingham Law School, said the technology touches on more than legal issues. She said it raises social, ethical, and philosophical questions about how people are represented after death and who controls that representation.
She also pointed to a business incentive. Simulated accounts could drive engagement, generate content, and create more data for artificial intelligence systems.
A growing field known as grief tech
Meta has explored digital legacy tools before. About a decade ago, Facebook introduced features that allow users to assign a “legacy contact” to manage their accounts after death. In a 2023 interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, Mark Zuckerberg discussed virtual avatars for deceased people, suggesting they could help some individuals cope with grief.
The broader category is often called grief tech. It includes tools sometimes referred to as death bots or ghost bots. Several startups already operate in this space, many founded by people who experienced personal loss. In 2021, Microsoft patented a chatbot designed to simulate deceased people, as well as fictional characters and celebrities.
Questions about grief and human loss
The expansion of such technology raises questions about how it might shape the grieving process. Joseph Davis, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia, said grief involves accepting the reality of loss.
“Let the dead be dead,” Davis said, warning that simulated presence could blur that reality and create confusion rather than comfort.
