Authentic Identity Representation

Policy details

CHANGE LOG

Today

Oct 9, 2024

Jul 31, 2024

Policy Rationale

Authenticity is the cornerstone of our community. We believe that authenticity helps create a community where people are accountable to each other, and to Meta, in meaningful ways. We want to allow for the many ways that identity is expressed across our global community, while preventing impersonation and identity misrepresentation. To maintain a safe and open environment where people can trust one another and build community, we do not allow for the creation of accounts or profiles that are created or used to deceive others.

On Facebook, we require people to create one account using the name they go by in everyday life that represents their authentic identity. We created Additional Profiles to help people express different parts of their identity, such as their interests or businesses.

We do not allow the use of our services and will restrict or disable Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts or other Facebook entities (such as Pages, groups) that:

Belong to underage children

Impersonate another person or entity by:

Using their image(s), name, or likeness with the aim to deceive others

Speaking in the voice of another person or entity for whom the user is not authorized to do so (e.g. by creating a Page or Profile)

Engage in identity misrepresentation to mislead or deceive others, evade enforcement, or violate our Community Standards. We consider a number of factors when assessing misleading identity misrepresentation, such as:

Repeated or significant changes to identity details, such as name or age

Misleading profile information, such as bio details and profile location

Using stock imagery

Use a name containing violations of our Community Standards.

On Facebook, we will seek further information before taking actions ranging from temporarily restricting to permanently disabling profiles or accounts if you:

Provide a false date of birth

Use a name that is not the authentic name you go by in everyday life

Create a single account that represents or is used by more than one person

Create or maintain multiple Facebook accounts

Create an account that represents a non-human entity, such as a business, pet, or fictional character

Maintain empty profiles with prolonged dormancy

User experiences

See some examples of what enforcement looks like for people on Facebook, such as: what it looks like to report something you don’t think should be on Facebook, to be told you’ve violated our Community Standards and to see a warning screen over certain content.

Note: We’re always improving, so what you see here may be slightly outdated compared to what we currently use.

USER EXPERIENCE

Reporting

USER EXPERIENCE

Post-report communication

USER EXPERIENCE

Takedown experience

USER EXPERIENCE

Warning screens

Enforcement

We have the same policies around the world, for everyone on Facebook.

Review teams

Our global team of over 15,000 reviewers work every day to keep people on Facebook safe.

Stakeholder engagement

Outside experts, academics, NGOs and policymakers help inform the Facebook Community Standards.

Get help with authentic identity representation

Learn what you can do if you see something on Facebook that goes against our Community Standards.

Visit our Help Center