BuddyPress Anonymous Activity

When nobody in your community dares to ask the uncomfortable question

In networks with sensitive topics (health, work, money, family), the same thing tends to happen: the people who most need to speak are the ones most afraid of being recognised. The result looks like a calm community, but it is a silent one. Whoever has the important question keeps it to themselves, and whoever answers only sees the usual questions.

BuddyPress Anonymous Activity targets exactly that: it lets a member post an activity update or comment on other people's activity without anyone seeing who they are. It does not change the shape of your network, it just removes the fear of signing your name.

What each person sees when someone posts anonymously

• Whoever posts: writes an activity update without revealing their identity.
• Whoever comments: can reply to other people's activity anonymously too.
• Notifications and emails: hide the identity of the anonymous author, so the name does not leak through the alert.
• Profile: the author sees those posts on their own profile, but other members do not.

BuddyPress Anonymous Activity also reaches bbPress forums, but you have to switch it on

The plugin supports creating topics and posting replies anonymously in bbPress. It is not enabled by default: you need to add a filter (bp_anonymous_activity_enable_forums, returned as true) in the bp-custom.php file. If you don't touch code, ask whoever manages your site to do it.

The bbPress group forum gives the author away in the activity stream

Here is the most important catch. If you use the integration between bbPress and BuddyPress group forums, the activity generated by anonymous topics and replies is not recorded as anonymous: it shows the real user's details. There is a way to disable the recording of forum activity, and it is worth using if your community relies on group forums.

• The plugin already handles: anonymous posts and comments in the activity stream, nameless notifications and emails, and a profile protected from other members.
• You cover with a setting: the filter in bp-custom.php for bbPress forums.
• You decide: whether to disable forum activity recording when you use group forums, so the real user does not appear.
• You define: the community rules on what can be said without a name and how to act on abuse.

Who can be anonymous and with which avatar

There are admin settings to enable the feature for groups and for users, and to change the avatar shown in place of the real photo. There are also filters to allow or block anonymity for specific users or groups, useful if you only want to open it in a support group and not across the whole network. It works with BuddyPress, including the Nouveau template pack, and covers compatibility with BuddyBoss and with a verified member plugin.

Check in the demo how the anonymous avatar looks with your theme before launching it.

Questions to settle before turning anonymity on

Does it work without BuddyPress?

No. It is an add-on for networks built on BuddyPress.

Can the author see what they posted?

Yes, on their own profile. Other members do not see it there.

Does the name leak through email?

No: notifications and emails hide the identity of the anonymous user.

Does it work with bbPress forums?

Yes, for topics and replies, by enabling it with the filter. With integrated group forums, the activity would show the real user unless you disable its recording.

Can I limit it to certain groups?

Yes, with the admin settings and the per-user or per-group filters.