Can you post a conversation that reveals someone’s private details?
The short answer
The privacy rule covers other people’s personal contact details and disclosures that could cause harm. Having a complaint about a customer does not, by itself, make their private number or home address safe to publish.
Source partly reviewed — details
What this answer is based onWhat to do
Explain the public-facing issue without identifying the person. If the wording of a message matters, keep only the relevant part and cover private details with solid, opaque blocks. Keep the original separately for resolving the dispute.
- Check the whole frame: name, avatar, phone number, address, order number, QR codes and attachment captions.
- Crop unnecessary areas and cover details that could identify or locate the person. Consider separately whether an order number reveals more than intended.
- Open the finished image and zoom in. Check the other Story frames too: the next screenshot may still reveal the details.
The situation
A seller posts a Story: “The customer received the order and now wants a refund. Here’s our chat.” The screenshot includes the buyer’s personal phone number, home delivery address and entry code. Viewers get much more than the details of the refund dispute.
The situation and an improvement
“Here’s the customer’s chat” — with their personal number and delivery address visible.
“A customer requested a refund after delivery. Here is how we handle these requests.” If a screenshot is necessary, use only an anonymised extract.
One more example
A kind review still shows a home address
A customer messages a shop: “Thank you, the dress fits perfectly! Feel free to share my review.” The screenshot also captures earlier messages with her home address, phone number and order number. The shop hides only her name and posts it to Stories.
What to do
Crop to the review itself and hide any remaining details that could identify the customer or her order. Permission to share praise should not be treated as permission to show the whole conversation. Open the finished image before posting and check that the address and phone number are no longer visible.
What this answer is based on
Meta Community Standards — Privacy Violationstransparency.meta.comOnly a source excerpt was availableReview details
Source reviewed:
We could read only an excerpt of the official page in search results. The full conditions and exceptions have not yet been checked.
Reviewed clause: other people’s personal contact information and disclosures that could cause harm.
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.
Study this topicWho will see what you share?Sources and related topicsPolicy Graph · Demo in development