You're in charge of who can see your profile and how much of it shows up. Couchsurfing gives you a couple of toggles in Privacy Settings, and you can change them anytime.
What Are My Privacy Options?
You'll find two toggles in Privacy Settings:
- View My Profile: When enabled, only logged-in Couchsurfing members can see your profile. Non-logged-in visitors won't be able to view it at all
- Only Show First Name: When enabled, your last name is hidden from your profile across the platform
How Do I Update My Privacy Settings?
On mobile:
- Tap Library
in the bottom navigation bar
- Tap your profile
in the upper right corner
- Tap Settings
- Tap Privacy Settings
- Toggle View My Profile or Only Show First Name on or off
- Tap Done
On the web:
- Click your profile
- Click Settings
in the upper right corner
- Click Privacy Settings
- Toggle View My Profile or Only Show First Name on or off
Your changes save automatically on the web, no extra step needed.
What Can Non-Logged-In Visitors See?
Even if you don't touch your settings, certain sensitive fields are automatically hidden from anyone who isn't signed in to Couchsurfing. These are never shown to non-logged-in visitors:
- Gender, pronouns, and sexuality
- Lifestyle details: social style, sleep personality, star sign, tidiness, activeness, religion, alcohol, cigarettes, weed, and recreational drugs
- Your Friends page and References page
- Your map and upcoming trips
If you also turn on View My Profile, non-logged-in visitors won't see your profile at all.
Need more help? Get in touch. You can also reach us anytime through Settings → Contact Support.