Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta.
Last Update:
Platform Policies:
Policy regarding legal name requirement for account creation is unclear. Pseudonyms may be against policy in some cases.
Name changes permitted. Limited to once every 60 days. Document with a legal name may be required under certain circumstances.
“We understand that changing your name can be a challenging process for transgender, gender non-conforming, genderqueer and non-binary people. You can use your authentic name, the name you go by in everyday life, to update information like your bio, personal account, payment info, and to update your gender identity on Facebook. Please note that updating your name in some places on Facebook may require you to submit one or more documents with your authentic name.”
No policy prohibiting deadnaming.
No indication there is any plan to implement this policy.
Users are required to choose pronouns that will be used publicly.
“System pronouns will be used for Facebook app notifications, i.e. ‘Wish them a happy birthday’. Your system pronouns are public and can be seen by anyone.”
There is a limited list of approved pronouns for each language.
Currently available (English):
- co / cos
- e / ey / em / eir
- fae / faer / faers
- he / him / his
- she / her / hers
- hir / hirs
- it / its
- mer / mers
- ne / nir / nirs
- nee / ner / ners
- per / pers
- they / them / theirs
- thon / thons
- ve / ver / vis
- vi / vir
- xe / xem / xyr
- ze / zie / zir
Gender disclosure is required but users can make this information private or select a custom audience.
Gender options are limited to:
- Female
- Male
- Nonbinary
- Agender
- Androgyne
- Androgynous
- Bigender
- Cis
- Cis Female
- Cis Male
- Cis Man
- Cis Woman
- Cisgender
Meta policy prohibits harassment based on claims about a person’s gender identity under certain circumstances.
Misgendering must be reported by the individual being targeted. Public figures are not protected under this policy..
“In addition to all the protections listed above, all private minors, private adults (who must self-report), and minor involuntary public figures are protected from: Claims about romantic involvement, sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Community Guidelines prohibit hate speech directed at someone’s gender identity.
“We define hate speech as direct attacks against people — rather than concepts or institutions— on the basis of what we call protected characteristics (PCs): race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, and serious disease.”
Contributor Notes:
“Facebook does a poor job of protecting its trans users.”
– Anonymous Contributor
Platform Environment:
Glaad Social Media Safety Index reports a sore of 61% for Facebook in 2023.
Community members have reported being banned for using a chosen name instead of their legal name. Some users report being banned even when supported by legal documents.