# Human Digital Remains **Domain:** Digital Afterlife / Data / Estates **Doc Type:** Canonical Concept **Maturity:** Developed **Evidence / Concept Status:** Policy-facing research term with growing regulatory relevance ## Definition **Human Digital Remains (HDR)** are the data, records, biometric traces, media, accounts, inferred profiles, and other digitally persistent artefacts associated with a person after biological death. ## Continuity Significance HDR is the source layer from which posthumous replicas, agents, or Digital Human Twins may be constructed. The continuity problem begins when an estate-like object becomes reconstruction substrate. ## Existing Architecture / Evidence The 2025/2026 *From bones to bytes* literature treats HDR as a governance category and proposes advance data directives, data trustees, data-donor cards, posthumous erasure rights, and updated digital-identity rights. ## Evidentiary Boundary / Red-Team Note HDR is not a person. Preservation of HDR does not establish consent to reconstruction or proof of continuity. ## Related Ontology [[wiki/Digital Afterlife|Digital Afterlife]] · [[wiki/Digital Legacy|Digital Legacy]] · [[wiki/Postmortem Data Directive|Posthumous Data Directive]] · [[wiki/Data Trustee|Data Trustee]] · [[wiki/Posthumous Digital Human Twin|Posthumous Digital Human Twin]] · [[wiki/Continuity Evidence vs Continuity|Continuity Evidence vs Continuity]] ## Sources / Provenance - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-025-02514-4