Privacy Impact

Privacy Impact

The Private Comments plugin fundamentally alters the visibility of user-generated content on your WordPress site. By default, WordPress treats comments as public discussions; this plugin converts the comment section into a private communication channel between the commenter and the site staff.

Visibility Rules

Once activated, the plugin filters all comment queries to ensure that only authorized users can view specific entries. The visibility is restricted to the following three parties:

• The Comment Author: The individual who submitted the comment (must be logged in to verify identity).
• The Post Author: The creator of the post or page where the comment was left.
• Site Administrators: Any user with administrative privileges across the site.

All other users—including other registered members and anonymous visitors—will see the comment section as if no comments have been posted.

Changes to Default WordPress Behavior

This plugin introduces several key changes to the standard user experience:

1. Restricted Discussion: Unlike standard WordPress behavior, users cannot see or reply to each other's comments. This effectively turns the comment area into a private feedback or support form.
2. Thread Visibility: If a site administrator or post author replies to a comment, that reply is only visible to the original commenter. It remains hidden from the general public.
3. Comment Counts: Depending on your theme's implementation, the "Comment Count" (e.g., "5 Comments") may still display the total number of comments, even if the visitor cannot see them. This behavior is subject to how your specific theme calls the get_comments_number() function.

Usage Example: Verifying Privacy

To verify the privacy impact on your site, you can perform the following test:

1. As a Guest: Navigate to a post with existing comments. The comment list should appear empty.
2. As a Logged-in Subscriber (Not the Author): Navigate to the same post. You should still see an empty comment list.
3. As the Comment Author: Log in as the user who wrote a comment. You should see your own comment and any replies from the Administrator, but no comments from other users.

Note: This plugin applies its privacy filters globally across all post types where comments are enabled. There is no additional configuration required; the privacy rules are enforced immediately upon activation.