Meta has been granted a patent setting out how artificial intelligence could be used to simulate a person’s social media activity when they are no longer active on a platform, including after death. Filed in 2023 and approved in late December 2025, the patent describes the use of a large language model trained on historical user data — including posts, comments, likes and messaging behaviour — to replicate online interactions in the absence of the original account holder, raising fresh questions about digital identity, consent, post-mortem data rights and the commercial use of online presence after death, according to The WP Times, citing Business Insider.
The patent, approved in late December 2025 and originally filed in 2023, sets out a system in which AI could continue to interact with other users by liking posts, commenting on content and responding to messages in a manner consistent with the original account holder’s past behaviour. Meta has said it has no plans to implement the technology, but experts note that the approval of the patent formally places the concept within the company’s long-term intellectual property strategy.
What the patent allows
According to the filing, the proposed system would rely on user-specific data gathered during a person’s lifetime on Meta platforms. This includes posting history, language patterns, emotional tone, frequency of engagement and behavioural differences across services such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The patent states that the model could:
- simulate written interactions such as comments and private messages
- generate engagement signals, including likes and reactions
- adapt behaviour depending on platform context
- potentially enable audio or video-based interactions using generative AI
Rather than preserving a static archive, the technology would create an active digital proxy capable of ongoing interaction.
The primary author of the patent is listed as Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s Chief Technology Officer. His involvement suggests the proposal was developed at a senior technical level within the company. A Meta spokesperson told Business Insider that the company files patents to disclose ideas and protect research, adding that a granted patent does not necessarily indicate plans to develop or deploy a product.
Why Meta argues the technology is needed
The patent frames the issue in terms of user experience. It argues that when a person stops posting — whether temporarily or permanently — their absence has a measurable impact on other users.
“The impact on users is much more severe and permanent if that user is deceased and can never return to the social networking platform,” the document states.
From Meta’s perspective, social networks are shaped by continuity. When accounts fall silent, conversations end, engagement declines and online communities fragment. The proposed AI system is positioned as a way to mitigate that disruption. The filing also notes potential use cases beyond death, including extended breaks from social media taken by creators or public figures whose livelihoods depend on maintaining engagement.
Meta’s interest in sustained engagement aligns with its business model. In 2024, the company reported revenues of $134.9bn, with more than 97% generated through advertising. User interaction, content creation and behavioural data remain central to its advertising ecosystem. An AI system that allows accounts to remain active during prolonged absences — or indefinitely — would theoretically preserve engagement metrics and data flows. While Meta has not confirmed any intention to deploy the technology, analysts note that patents of this scope are typically pursued only when companies see long-term strategic value.
Digital legacy and earlier initiatives
The patent builds on Meta’s existing tools for managing digital legacy. Facebook introduced memorialised accounts and legacy contacts nearly a decade ago, allowing nominated individuals to manage profiles after death. More recently, Mark Zuckerberg has spoken publicly about the potential role of AI in preserving memories. In a 2023 interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, he suggested that interacting with digital representations of deceased loved ones could, in some cases, help people process grief. The current patent represents a shift from preservation to simulation — from storing memories to continuing behaviour.
Growth of “grief tech”
Meta’s proposal comes amid growing interest in so-called grief tech, a sector focused on digital tools designed to help people cope with loss. Several companies have already explored similar ideas. Replika, founded in 2015, allows users to converse with AI companions trained on personal data. In 2021, Microsoft was granted a patent for an AI chatbot capable of simulating deceased individuals, fictional characters or public figures. What distinguishes Meta is scale. With more than 3.9 billion monthly active users, any implementation of post-mortem simulation would operate at an unprecedented global level.
Legal and ethical concerns
Legal experts say the technology described in Meta’s patent occupies a significant regulatory grey area. In most jurisdictions, data protection and privacy rights expire at death, leaving unresolved questions around consent, reputation, emotional harm and the post-mortem use of personal data. Edina Harbinja, a professor of law at the University of Birmingham, told Business Insider that existing legal frameworks were never designed to address artificial intelligence systems capable of continuing to act on behalf of a deceased individual.
She said that while platforms already manage memorialised accounts, AI-driven simulation represents a qualitatively different challenge. “Questions of ownership, consent and accountability become far more complex once a system is able to generate new behaviour rather than simply preserve past content,” she noted. Harbinja added that without clear legal safeguards, there is a risk that such technologies could be deployed in ways that conflict with the wishes of the deceased or their families, particularly as AI capabilities evolve beyond what users may have anticipated when they first gave consent.
Impact on grief and bereavement
Beyond legal concerns, sociologists and psychologists have raised questions about the potential impact of simulated digital presence on the grieving process. Joseph Davis, a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, said that grief involves recognising and coming to terms with irreversible loss.
“Simulated interaction risks blurring the boundary between remembrance and illusion,” he said. “There is a danger that people may appear to be maintaining a relationship, when in fact the person they are engaging with no longer exists.”
According to Davis, such ambiguity could delay emotional adjustment, particularly for vulnerable users. “Letting the dead remain dead is, for many people, a necessary part of achieving closure,” he added.
Meta has stressed that the patent does not signal an imminent product launch, and that granted patents do not necessarily lead to deployed technologies. However, as generative AI becomes increasingly embedded across digital platforms, the broader debate around digital afterlife, consent and identity is expected to intensify. For now, the system described in the patent remains theoretical. But by formally protecting the concept, Meta has ensured that questions about whether social media presence should ever truly end are no longer abstract — they are now part of the technology industry’s active agenda.
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