With privacy a common concern among internet users today, a great many of us are sticklers for keeping control of our data across our online accounts. But what happens to all that data once you’re dead?

That’s the question that Google is attempting to address with its new “data after death” management tool, the Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to pass on control of your data to a friend or family member, or simply have it wiped off the face of Google’s servers.

Your new “Death Panel” can be accessed via the Google Accounts page. Just click on “Accounts Management” and you’ll see a new option saying “Control what happens to your account when you stop using Google. Learn more and go to setup.” From there, you can give Google instructions on what to do with your data in the event of your passing.

Andreas Turk, writing in the Google Blog, says that while we don’t really like thinking about death, especially our own, it’s important to make plans for the people we leave behind. He continues:

“We hope that this new feature will enable you to plan your digital afterlife — in a way that protects your privacy and security — and make life easier for your loved ones after you’re gone.”

The Inactive Account Manager was the brainchild of Google’s Data Liberation Group, which was formed to come up with ways to make it easier to export data from Google’s services.

And indeed it does seem pretty easy now to control what happens to our data. First up, Google allows users to set a specific inactivity period of between three months and one year, after which time Google will take whatever action has been specified. Google will determine your ‘inactivity’ based on numerous factors, such as account sign-ins, Gmail usage, web history and usage of Android devices.

There’s also a failsafe to prevent accidental deletion of your data, say if you decided to spend a year living in a cave or whatever, and forgot all about Google. Users can setup an alert in the form of a text message or email sent to a specified number/address, asking the recipient to confirm whatever action needs to be taken. Users can choose up to ten contacts to receive this message in the event of their ‘inactivity’, and they can also choose whether or not to share their data with these contacts. After the account times out, these contacts then have three months to download all of your data, if they wish.

Google isn’t the only web company that has attempted to tackle the question of what happens in the event of a user’s death. Facebook for example, gives friends and family members the chance to “memorialize” an account.