Filming people and showing personal info: privacy rules side by side
The short answer
Showing someone's home address, ID numbers or bank details gets a video removed on every platform here, and TikTok and YouTube apply that to your own details too.
- Filming private people is the other risk: X and YouTube remove videos of identifiable private people shown without their consent once that person reports it.
- Instagram, Facebook and Threads remove people filmed in a clinic, or children under 13, without permission when they or a parent report it.
- Snapchat removes hidden-camera footage of private moments and holds back secret filming where people expect privacy.
- TikTok
- YouTube
- X
- Threads
- Snapchat
At a glance
| Platform | What can happen | Its strictest rule |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Taken down | Home address, IDs, card or login details visible |
| YouTube | Taken down | Personal info visible (address, phone, ID, documents) |
| Taken down | Personal info visible (IDs, addresses, cards) | |
| Taken down | Personal info visible (IDs, addresses, cards) | |
| X | Taken down | Someone's private information visible or spoken |
| Threads | Taken down | Personal info visible (IDs, addresses, cards) |
| Snapchat | Taken down, Shown to fewer people | Someone's private info, location or hidden-camera footage |
| Taken down | Personal info or private people shown without consent | |
| Taken down | Someone's personal information (doxxing) |
The rules, side by side
Each row is a platform's own rule: what it means, what the platform says, how to fix it, and where to read it in full.
| Platform | The rule, in plain words | In their words | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Home address, IDs, card or login details visibleRemovalHigh-risk personal information in the video or caption, even your own or shared with consent: home address, login credentials, payment card details, ID numbers. Moderate-risk info (phone, email, date of birth, medical info, someone's image, leaked private messages) may be removed if it causes distress.Fix: Blur or crop every address, ID, card, label and login screen; blur other people's details in screenshots. | “This includes content that someone has posted themselves or that they consented to being shared by others.” | |
| YouTube | Personal info visible (address, phone, ID, documents)RemovalNon-public personal information shown or spoken: home addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, login details, passport or ID numbers, medical records, bank details, or the school a minor attends. Applies to your own info, someone else's, and accidental sharing.Fix: Blur or crop house numbers, documents, screens and school logos, and bleep spoken personal details. | “This policy applies to sharing your own PII, sharing someone else’s PII, and situations where you accidentally share PII.” | |
| YouTube | Identifiable person filmed or AI-faked without consentRemovalA uniquely identifiable private person (face, voice, full name, contact or financial details) shown without their consent, including in private or sensitive situations, or a realistic AI-altered or synthetic likeness of a real person.Fix: Get permission from people you film, or blur faces and identifying details; don't make realistic AI versions of real people without consent. | “If someone has used AI to alter or create content that looks or sounds like you, you can ask for it to be removed.” | |
| InstagramFacebookThreads | Personal info visible (IDs, addresses, cards)RemovalVisible or spoken national ID/passport/SSN numbers, immigration documents, others' full home addresses or phone numbers, bank details with security or PIN codes, card numbers with dates or CVV, others' medical records, hacked information; footage of a private home's exterior that identifies its location and resident.Fix: Blur documents, labels, screens, house numbers, street signs and plates near private homes; do not name residents with their address. | “Content sharing full private residential addresses of others, including building name or pins on a map identifying the address (even if the information is in an off-platform link)” | |
| InstagramFacebookThreads | People filmed in clinics or kids without consentRemovalIdentifiable people in a medical or health facility, children under 13, or people unable to consent, filmed without permission; removed when the person, a parent/guardian or the facility reports it.Fix: Blur identifiable patients and children who are not yours, or get consent. | “A minor under 13 years old, and the content was reported by the minor or a parent or legal guardian.” | |
| X | Someone's private information visible or spokenRemovalFrames, text or speech that expose another person's private information without permission: home address or GPS location, government ID numbers, private phone or email, bank or card details, medical records, or the identity of an anonymous account.Fix: Blur house numbers, street signs, documents, screens and package labels; do not read numbers aloud; remove location tags that point to a private home. | “home address or physical location information, such as street addresses, GPS coordinates, or other identifying information related to locations that are considered private” | |
| X | Private person filmed and posted without consentRemovalIdentifiable private individuals (not public figures) shown in a video they did not consent to, where they had a reasonable expectation of privacy.Fix: Get consent from identifiable people, or blur faces of bystanders, customers and staff. | “You cannot share media (photos/videos) of private individuals without the permission of the person(s) depicted.” | |
| Snapchat | Someone's private info, location or hidden-camera footageRemovalSharing another person's private content, imagery or personal information (address, phone, documents) without consent, including doxxing and hidden-camera footage of private moments.Fix: Blur addresses, plates, documents and faces of people who did not consent, and do not film in private spaces without permission. | “We also prohibit non-consensual sharing of another person’s private content, imagery, or information, including sharing personally identifiable information (PII) for the purpose of harassment (i.e., “doxxing”).” | |
| Snapchat | Secret filming in private places or a child's locationNot recommendedSensitive personal information, people covertly recorded or exposed where they reasonably expect privacy (homes, bathrooms, changing rooms), or details that reveal where a child can be found.Fix: Cut footage of people filmed without their knowledge in private spaces, and blur school names, street signs and location tags near children. | “These Recommendation Eligibility Guidelines additionally prohibit sharing sensitive personal information, covertly recording or exposing people in places where they reasonably expect privacy, or exposing where a child can be found.” | |
| Personal info or private people shown without consentRemovalID documents, home addresses, emails, phone numbers, medical records, login details, card or bank numbers, or photos of private people posted without their permission.Fix: Blur or crop personal data and faces of people who did not agree to appear. | “Photos of private people posted on Pinterest without their permission” | ||
| Someone's personal information (doxxing)RemovalRevealing other people's personal or sensitive information (home address, phone, private documents), or encouraging others to do so.Fix: Blur names, addresses, numbers and documents before posting. | “Do not reveal others' personal or sensitive information (for example, doxing), or incite others to do the same.” |