CU Boulder launches free digital clinic

BOULDER, Colo. — On Monday, the University of Colorado Boulder opened its virtual doors to help families get their digital affairs in order. 

Jed Brubaker founded the free Digital Legacy Clinic, which operates similarly to a pro bono law clinic, but with specially trained information science students providing free advice and troubleshooting for the public.

“People need a helping hand when it comes to navigating the complexities of deciding what to do with all their different accounts, so putting the clinic together is the way to get that public outreach,” Brubaker said. 

Brubaker said the average internet user has as many as 191 accounts but only 13% of platforms have features designed to address the end-of-life needs of their users.

“If you think about that, that is a whole lot of photos letters, personal history and it be a shame if all that was lost. So that’s where we come in,” Brubaker said. 

Brubaker said that family members without passwords frequently hit roadblocks when trying to access photos or videos from the deceased’s Google or iCloud storage accounts.

“At the end of the day, what people need and what they want ends up being deeply personal and that means that the way we approach our services is deeply personal as well,” he said.

The clinic does not provide advice on financial matters, but Brubaker said the free clinic allows its students to adapt and grow as our lives continue to shift more online. 

“That allows us then to create policy, intervene on tech companies, and help create the standards we want to govern the space moving forward,” said Brubaker.  

You can access the Digital Legacy Clinic here.