This is a little grim, but...
Instagram has this week confirmed that it's fast-tracking the development of an account memorialization tool for users who've passed, in light of the impacts of COVID-19.
As you can see in this example, posted by reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong, the updated account memorialization process would add a 'Remembering' notifier below the profile image, and would display a new pop-up cover with a flower icon to any new profile visitors.
In response to Wong's discovery, Instagram confirmed that it is developing this feature, with the company then further clarifying to BuzzFeed that it's actually ramping up development of the option due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19.
As per Instagram:
"We’ve been working on these updates for some time, though this is one – among others – that we’ve accelerated in light of COVID-19 to help support our community during a difficult time."
Which serves as a reminder of the real, human impacts of the current outbreak. While living in lockdown may not be pleasant, the full extent of the coronavirus pandemic is hitting many families in a much deeper sense. In the US alone, more than 47,000 people have died as a result of COVID-19 at the time of writing, and 182,000 people have been killed by coronavirus globally.
In this respect, it is likely that Instagram does, in fact, need to ramp up the development of its memorialization tool. Which is a sobering thought, and one which is not pleasant to confront.
The new memorialization tools will add to the existing memorialization options at Instagram, which essentially freeze the account in time, and stop anyone from making any alterations to it. Content from memorialized accounts also no longer appears in Explore feeds.
There's no official timeline for a full roll-out of the tool at this stage, but it looks set to be released soon - and note, Jane Wong is fine (thankfully). The above example is for illustrative purposes only.