# \#privacy **URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/tag/privacy/131.md [Latest](https://meta.discourse.org/latest.md) · [Categories](https://meta.discourse.org/categories.md) · [Tags](https://meta.discourse.org/tags.md) --- ## [Data Processing and Contact Usage Inquiry](https://meta.discourse.org/t/data-processing-and-contact-usage-inquiry/398913)
**Author:** [@lucy.sierracircuits](https://meta.discourse.org/u/lucy.sierracircuits)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2026, 8:55pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/data-processing-and-contact-usage-inquiry/398913 "2026-03-20T20:55:36Z")
I wanted to inquire about your data handling practices. Could someone please share the Data Processing Agreement (DPA) and outline how Discourse manages and uses contact data? Specifically, I’d like to understand: Ho… --- ## [Public community, private community, or a mix? (context: migrating from Facebook)](https://meta.discourse.org/t/public-community-private-community-or-a-mix-context-migrating-from-facebook/394890)
**Author:** [@stephtara](https://meta.discourse.org/u/stephtara)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2026, 10:02pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/public-community-private-community-or-a-mix-context-migrating-from-facebook/394890 "2026-02-04T22:02:39Z")
In moving a community from a private group on Facebook to Discourse, I’m wondering if there is an opportunity to open up parts of it and make them public. With the move, the community is going to gain structure (see Stru… --- ## [How can I delete all of my PII user data?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-can-i-delete-all-of-my-pii-user-data/391550)
**Author:** [@arandomstranger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/arandomstranger)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2025, 11:52pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-can-i-delete-all-of-my-pii-user-data/391550 "2025-12-17T23:52:23Z")
Recently, I downloaded my data archive and found that the auth\_token\_logs.csv file contains all my IP addresses from the past three years. Unfortunately, my real IP address was exposed a couple of times, which could indi… --- ## [Where in Discourse can users publicly share PII?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-in-discourse-can-users-publicly-share-pii/391021)
**Author:** [@Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Discourse)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 11, 2025, 11:43am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-in-discourse-can-users-publicly-share-pii/391021 "2025-12-11T11:43:09Z")
:bookmark: This guide identifies all the places where users might publicly or inadvertently share personally identifiable information (PII) through their own actions in Discourse, and how administrators can restrict or … --- ## [Safe by Design: How to Protect Your Community Members and Their Privacy](https://meta.discourse.org/t/safe-by-design-how-to-protect-your-community-members-and-their-privacy/386629)
**Author:** [@Bas](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Bas)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [October 28, 2025, 1:32pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/safe-by-design-how-to-protect-your-community-members-and-their-privacy/386629 "2025-10-28T13:32:25Z")
Safe communities don’t happen by accident. The latest White Paper from Discourse takes a deep dive into what it really means to create safe and trusted online spaces that protect member privacy. I was excited to contri… --- ## [Dealing with illegal (CSAM) content?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dealing-with-illegal-csam-content/378529)
**Author:** [@RichardNooooh](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RichardNooooh)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2025, 4:11am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dealing-with-illegal-csam-content/378529 "2025-08-14T04:11:51Z")
:warning: This is not a request for legal advice, and any responses in this topic should not be taken as legal advice. :warning: This is a request for general, nonspecific advice. This is really awkward to ask as my … --- ## [How to hide just names and usernames for anonymous users](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-hide-just-names-and-usernames-for-anonymous-users/331542)
**Author:** [@wisedesk](https://meta.discourse.org/u/wisedesk)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 13, 2025, 11:37pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-hide-just-names-and-usernames-for-anonymous-users/331542 "2025-08-13T23:37:05Z")
We have a new forum from migrated content (with several years of conversations) and are struggling with how to balance public visibility with privacy. Can we hide all user names / usernames unless people are logged in? … --- ## [Private Live Stream and Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/t/private-live-stream-and-discourse/375965)
**Author:** [@gdelore](https://meta.discourse.org/u/gdelore)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 27, 2025, 10:04am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/private-live-stream-and-discourse/375965 "2025-07-27T10:04:22Z")
Hello all, I’m in the process of creating a private community, with paid access/vetted members. The community is the central magnet of my business/website, with a few derived professional services where I hope to make m… --- ## [Using Discourse without IP logins](https://meta.discourse.org/t/using-discourse-without-ip-logins/369313)
**Author:** [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [June 8, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/using-discourse-without-ip-logins/369313 "2025-06-08T17:20:48Z")
Continuing the discussion from How to delete all IP addresses?: It’s possible to use Discourse without IP login like Plausible service/logs, for example? --- ## [Privacy Policy not showing up](https://meta.discourse.org/t/privacy-policy-not-showing-up/367285)
**Author:** [@CraigSmith](https://meta.discourse.org/u/CraigSmith)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2025, 8:35pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/privacy-policy-not-showing-up/367285 "2025-05-22T20:35:38Z")
I would like to have links to external privacy policy and ToS visible on every page. I added the URLs into the boxes in the admin console but they don’t show up anywhere on the site. --- ## [General Question: Search Query Privacy](https://meta.discourse.org/t/general-question-search-query-privacy/365459)
**Author:** [@Fort](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Fort)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 10, 2025, 11:53am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/general-question-search-query-privacy/365459 "2025-05-10T11:53:37Z")
Hi everyone, This is my first post here. May I know if the search queries entered in the Search module are encrypted or private? Regards. --- ## [Concerns over personal privacy with the AI plugin](https://meta.discourse.org/t/concerns-over-personal-privacy-with-the-ai-plugin/361068)
**Author:** [@wotography](https://meta.discourse.org/u/wotography)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2025, 1:06pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/concerns-over-personal-privacy-with-the-ai-plugin/361068 "2025-04-10T13:06:58Z")
\#feature-request Dear devs from discourse, thanks for getting the ai plugin up and running. We are using this in our community forum where we share opinions as well es best practices for our work. We have concerns abo… --- ## [When Forum Admins Ignore Requests – What Are the Options?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/when-forum-admins-ignore-requests-what-are-the-options/354565)
**Author:** [@Okhre](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Okhre)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2025, 1:53pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/when-forum-admins-ignore-requests-what-are-the-options/354565 "2025-02-26T13:53:00Z")
Hello community and support team, Has anyone else experienced a situation where a forum admin refuses to respond to requests about personal account actions, such as username changes or account deletions? It’s frustrati… --- ## [Does "Delete User" remove IP addresses from everywhere?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/does-delete-user-remove-ip-addresses-from-everywhere/324912)
**Author:** [@CaptainJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/CaptainJ)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2024, 12:22pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/does-delete-user-remove-ip-addresses-from-everywhere/324912 "2024-09-10T12:22:59Z")
My site is hosted by Discourse. I deleted users before unchecking “log anonymizer details”. Does Discourse still have a log of their IP addresses somewhere? If so, is there any way for me to delete them or are they just … --- ## [Documenting localStorage in same way as cookies](https://meta.discourse.org/t/documenting-localstorage-in-same-way-as-cookies/294882)
**Author:** [@0tOoB](https://meta.discourse.org/u/0tOoB)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 9, 2024, 11:44pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/documenting-localstorage-in-same-way-as-cookies/294882 "2024-02-09T23:44:01Z")
Is there any documentation of how Discourse uses localStorage in the browser? Could it be added to your privacy notice? I’m looking at getting my privacy notices etc. right before launching a self-hosted instance. I was… --- ## [Persistent sessions and GDPR cookie consent](https://meta.discourse.org/t/persistent-sessions-and-gdpr-cookie-consent/290994)
**Author:** [@paulmelis](https://meta.discourse.org/u/paulmelis)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2024, 9:22am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/persistent-sessions-and-gdpr-cookie-consent/290994 "2024-01-11T09:22:05Z")
I’m setting up a discourse forum in a very privacy-aware environment. The current snag I’m running into is the persistent sessions setting, i.e. “remember me” for login. As far as I can tell the GDPR requires a user to g… --- ## [Privacy concerns for global Gen-Z audiences](https://meta.discourse.org/t/privacy-concerns-for-global-gen-z-audiences/287305)
**Author:** [@mtrgrande](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mtrgrande)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 4, 2023, 9:04am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/privacy-concerns-for-global-gen-z-audiences/287305 "2023-12-04T09:04:24Z")
Hi, planning to use Discourse to create a global community for young audiences. Account settings will be set up (disabled chat, no anon posting, etc) but in terms of their data and information, is it safe? --- ## [How long does personal information remain in Discourse's servers after it's deleted on the front end?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-long-does-personal-information-remain-in-discourses-servers-after-its-deleted-on-the-front-end/284128)
**Author:** [@Gavin\_Hudson](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Gavin_Hudson)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [November 13, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-long-does-personal-information-remain-in-discourses-servers-after-its-deleted-on-the-front-end/284128 "2023-11-13T18:40:18Z")
This is a GDPR topic. Basically, we need to know whether and over what time frame personal data, such as IP address, name and email, are deleted permanently. After a period of inactivity, is the IP deleted and if so af… --- ## [Privacy-hardened version?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/privacy-hardened-version/269643)
**Author:** [@paulmelis](https://meta.discourse.org/u/paulmelis)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 26, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/privacy-hardened-version/269643 "2023-06-26T15:02:49Z")
I’m wondering if, during all the years of Discourse’s development, there have been discussions of having a privacy-hardened version? I’m specifically thinking of disabling any tracking and profiling features and correspo… --- ## [How much time will it take to finish cleanup of a deleted user's personal data?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-much-time-will-it-take-to-finish-cleanup-of-a-deleted-users-personal-data/268397)
**Author:** [@hnc-jihoon](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hnc-jihoon)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [June 15, 2023, 3:46am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-much-time-will-it-take-to-finish-cleanup-of-a-deleted-users-personal-data/268397 "2023-06-15T03:46:17Z")
Hi, I’m running a forum using Discourse (SaaS) and I want to know if there is a guaranteed time limit in handling a deleted user’s personal info. I see a related description like below in the official document on priva… --- ## [Usernames in shared links break anonymity](https://meta.discourse.org/t/usernames-in-shared-links-break-anonymity/42554)
**Author:** [@ljpp](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ljpp)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2023, 9:45am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/usernames-in-shared-links-break-anonymity/42554 "2023-05-28T09:45:35Z")
Most forums operate with a level of user anonymity - usernames are used instead of real names. The social sharing functions of Discourse however show the username in an unecrypted format, such as: https://meta.discourse… --- ## [Private Groups](https://meta.discourse.org/t/private-groups/260151)
**Author:** [@TAKY123](https://meta.discourse.org/u/TAKY123)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 31, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/private-groups/260151 "2023-03-31T19:55:23Z")
Looking to set up a new community with a regular selection of public categories in addition to hundreds of private groups of 10 people per group. Users would be assigned to a group after registration by admin. Would li… --- ## [Ability to view if PM has been read (Moderation ability?)](https://meta.discourse.org/t/ability-to-view-if-pm-has-been-read-moderation-ability/38033)
**Author:** [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/ability-to-view-if-pm-has-been-read-moderation-ability/38033 "2023-02-06T16:10:57Z")
So, this is a feature that many, but not all, communication platforms have. I would like an option to view if a user has “read” (seen) a PM sent to them. Facebook Messenger is the most prominent service that does this,… --- ## [Providing data for GDPR](https://meta.discourse.org/t/providing-data-for-gdpr/83595)
**Author:** [@richp10](https://meta.discourse.org/u/richp10)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/providing-data-for-gdpr/83595 "2018-12-20T22:02:34Z")
Sorry I am late to this conversation, but this is a very important issue and it does not appear it reached resolution. It strikes me that GDPR compliance does mean changes to Discourse - maybe this is all in hand but I … --- ## [GDPR and anonymizing personal data](https://meta.discourse.org/t/gdpr-and-anonymizing-personal-data/72103)
**Author:** [@Overgrow](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Overgrow)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [December 1, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/gdpr-and-anonymizing-personal-data/72103 "2018-12-01T01:39:37Z")
GDPR that will be effective in EU by 28/5/2018 requires more careful handling of personal data. As I’ve analyzed needed changes in our software I’ve found following: We need explicit consent by user to gather personal… --- ## [Problematic IP address fields](https://meta.discourse.org/t/problematic-ip-address-fields/83785)
**Author:** [@riking](https://meta.discourse.org/u/riking)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2018, 11:10pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/problematic-ip-address-fields/83785 "2018-05-24T23:10:12Z")
Continuing the discussion from Providing data for GDPR: I did a first pass over Discourse’s tables, and I found several places where IP addresses are being accidentally correlated with user IDs. This is toxic data gener… --- ## [Google Analytics GDPR - PII in unsubscribe email](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-analytics-gdpr-pii-in-unsubscribe-email/88038)
**Author:** [@chloecan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chloecan)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2018, 7:22am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-analytics-gdpr-pii-in-unsubscribe-email/88038 "2018-05-22T07:22:40Z")
Hi, As you know GDPR is going to be put in place and I fell upon this article (http://www.cardinalpath.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-google-analytics-personally-identifiable-information/) that explains how to make sur… --- ## [PMs should not show up in dashboard "Top Referred Topics"](https://meta.discourse.org/t/pms-should-not-show-up-in-dashboard-top-referred-topics/87646)
**Author:** [@supermathie](https://meta.discourse.org/u/supermathie)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/pms-should-not-show-up-in-dashboard-top-referred-topics/87646 "2018-05-16T14:56:18Z")
Right now it’s possible for PMs to show up in Top Referred Topics - we should prevent that. --- ## [Possible to remove signup ip?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/possible-to-remove-signup-ip/83228)
**Author:** [@8BIT](https://meta.discourse.org/u/8BIT)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 19, 2018, 9:40am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/possible-to-remove-signup-ip/83228 "2018-03-19T09:40:11Z")
a user (moderator) would appreciate if their sign-up IP address was removed from view (from other moderators). easily possible? --- ## [Modifying Privacy Policy to conform with EU law](https://meta.discourse.org/t/modifying-privacy-policy-to-conform-with-eu-law/54039)
**Author:** [@njamdal](https://meta.discourse.org/u/njamdal)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 11, 2017, 7:33am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/modifying-privacy-policy-to-conform-with-eu-law/54039 "2017-12-11T07:33:11Z")
I’m trying to formulate a privacy policy for those of us who are neither lawyers nor an organization large enough to hire any, but do care about privacy. I need the privacy policy to conform to my country’s privacy laws. … [Next page](https://meta.discourse.org/tag/privacy/131.md?match_all_tags=true&page=1&tags%5B%5D=privacy)