Meta holds wrong information about me. How can I ask for it to be corrected?
The short answer
Where GDPR applies, Article 16 lets you request correction of inaccurate personal data and completion of incomplete data, considering why it is processed. Identify the specific record and the correct facts. This is a privacy-rights request, separate from choosing a new display name or appealing a moderation decision.
What this answer is based onWhat to do
Prepare your account identifier, the record or screenshot showing the error, the proposed correction, concise supporting evidence and previous case references. Keep a copy of the request and receipt. Share only necessary identity evidence through a verified official channel, never passwords or login codes.
- Check scope and the error. GDPR applies to processing connected with an EU establishment and certain non-EU processing involving services offered to, or monitoring of, people in the EU. It is not a universal right for every account. Record exactly what is wrong or missing, where you found it and what evidence supports the correction. If you do not know what is held, an access request can help identify it.
- Find the responsible controller and its official privacy contact or data-protection officer in the privacy notice for your service and region. State the account, disputed record, correct facts and requested correction or completion under Article 16. Ask for written confirmation. If accuracy is disputed, you can also request restriction of processing while it is checked under Article 18; restriction is not erasure. Ask which recipients received the data and about notifying them of the correction under Article 19, subject to impossibility or disproportionate effort.
- Track receipt and the reply. The normal response period is one month; a necessary extension of up to two more months must be notified with reasons within the first month. Requests are normally free, with exceptions for manifestly unfounded or excessive requests. If refused, ask for the reasons; if unresolved or unanswered, take the request, delivery record, evidence and replies to a competent data-protection authority using its complaint guidance. The EDPB directory links national authorities. Do not let a separate moderation-appeal deadline expire while waiting.
The situation
An account-data record lists a birth year that is not yours. Note the field, the value recorded and the correct value. Do not assume that correcting it will automatically remove an age restriction or restore the account.
The situation and an improvement
Repeat an account appeal saying only that the platform is wrong.
Identify the inaccurate personal-data record, request a precise correction and keep the privacy request separate from the appeal.
More examples
Correct fact, incomplete record
A record contains a statement about you but leaves out relevant context.
What to do
Explain what is missing and why it matters to the purpose of that record. Request completion, including a supplementary statement where appropriate, rather than demanding that every original entry disappear.
A moderation opinion is disputed
You disagree with a decision that a post broke platform rules.
What to do
Use the available moderation appeal for that decision. If a separate factual record about you is wrong, identify it in a rectification request; disagreement alone does not establish inaccurate personal data.
The correction was refused
The reply says the information is accurate but does not address your evidence.
What to do
Save the reply and clearly identify the unanswered factual point. Use the competent authority’s complaint instructions and include the correspondence; neither a complaint nor a correction guarantees reinstatement.
What this answer is based on
EDPB · Rectification and handling data-rights requestswww.edpb.europa.euGDPR · Articles 3, 12, 16, 18, 19 and 77 (search excerpts)European Commission · Dealing with requests from individualsIrish DPC · The right to rectificationIrish DPC · Incorrect facts and disputed opinionsEDPB · National data protection authoritiesPrimary source readReview details
Source reviewed:
We read the official source listed for this topic. Other Meta rules are reviewed separately.
Read public EDPB, European Commission and Irish DPC guidance and the authority directory. EUR-Lex full pages presented a robot check; statutory search excerpts were available. No Meta account, privacy contact form or complaint submission was tested, and individual legal eligibility was not determined. Evidence preparation and separation from moderation appeals are practical guidance, not a restoration promise.
Include the guide link, language and wording that needs checking. Add an official source link if you have one. Do not send passwords, login codes or photos of identity documents.
Examples are made up to explain the guidance. Meta decides individual account and content cases.
Sources and related topicsPolicy Graph · Demo in development