# Do we need private profiles? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 21, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-need-private-profiles/973602 "2022-10-21T17:38:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-need-private-profiles/973602/1 "2022-10-21T17:38:07Z")
Profiles in this board serve almost no purpose. If I hide my profile, I am not removing the ability for other posters to look at my activity. I’m just making it inconvenient. Specifically, if I hide my profile, other posters can’t click the “only show Johnny’s posts” button. This is a _super convenient_ feature for quickly reviewing what a poster has been arguing in a thread. I can still do a search for @Johnny_Bravo inside the topic, but the results aren’t nearly as easy to parse. There are no requirements whatsoever to include personal information, email addresses, or other identifying material in profiles. As best I can tell, the only people who benefit from hidden profiles are those who want to obfuscate their **activity** from other members of the community, not those who want to protect their identities. So - what value is added by letting posters hide their profiles? --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-need-private-profiles/973602)._