Note: This article is for guidance only and does not replace legal advice.
coapp asks for first name and last name as required fields during signup. Whether you, as the Community Owner, require the official real name to be entered there is a policy decision for your community.
For some communities, it is more privacy-friendly to allow pseudonyms or community names, for example if it is an open community, a forum, an interest group, or a public learning or exchange platform.
When can real names be useful or necessary?
A real-name rule can be more understandable if your community, for example:
represents a closed membership organization,
manages paid memberships or contracts,
issues invoices, certificates, or confirmations of participation,
must meet professional, legal, or security-related requirements,
requires clear internal assignment of members.
How can members change their name themselves?
Members can change their name in coapp themselves at any time.
Here’s how:
Click the profile picture at the top in the header.
Open Account.
Edit first name and last name.
Save changes.
Can admins change a member’s name?
Yes. Admins can change the name in the Manage area at the request of a member.
Ask the member to formulate the change request as clearly as possible.
Open the Manage area.
Open the corresponding member.
Change first name and/or last name.
Briefly inform the member once the change has been made.
Admins should not change names arbitrarily or without a comprehensible reason. Useful reasons include, for example:
correcting a typo,
change after marriage, name change, or personal request,
handling a support case,
violation of name rules, for example impersonation or offensive terms.
Own terms and conditions in coapp
In the Manage area, you can create your own terms and conditions. These must be confirmed during signup.
There you should define:
whether real names are required,
whether nicknames or pseudonyms are allowed,
which names are not allowed,
whether admins may change names in the event of rule violations,
how members can change their name.
The terms and conditions regulate behavior in your community. In addition, you should explain in your privacy policy how names are processed and who can see them.
Best practices for admins and owners
1. Clearly communicate visibility
Members should know whether their name is only visible internally, only to other members, or publicly.
2. Record name rules in the terms and conditions
Clearly formulate which names are allowed and which are not. This helps with moderation, support, and conflict cases.
3. Enable name changes
coapp supports name changes by members themselves as well as by admins in the Manage area.
4. Separate privacy and terms and conditions
Terms and conditions are community rules. Privacy information explains data processing. Both should fit together, but should not be mixed.
Frequently asked questions
Can members change their name after signup?
Yes. Members can change their name themselves at any time: profile picture in the header > Account.
Can admins change names?
Yes. Admins can change a member’s name in the Manage area, for example at the request of the member or in the event of a violation of name rules.
Do I have to require real names?
No, not automatically. Whether real names are required depends on the purpose of your community. For many communities, it is more privacy-friendly to allow pseudonyms or community names.
Is it enough to write a real-name requirement into the terms and conditions?
Not necessarily. If you require real names, you should be able to justify why this is necessary for your community. You should also explain the processing transparently in your privacy policy.
Are pseudonyms also personal data?
Often yes. If a pseudonym is linked to an account, an email address, internal logs, or other data, it can still be personal data.