Personal privacy
You decide when and with whom to share your own A.A. membership
A.A. protects members from public identification as alcoholics. That protection does not require a member to hide recovery from every person in private life. The central personal question is ownership: is this your information to share?
Open Understanding Anonymity official pamphletYour own
You may decide that telling someone is helpful, necessary, or simply honest. A.A. describes disclosure to family and friends as the member’s own choice.
Private or public
A private conversation with someone you trust is different from a public post, broadcast, article, film, or other communication open to a broad audience.
Protect other members
Your choice about your own membership does not give you the choice to identify another person. Names, faces, tags, meeting details, and relationships can reveal more than intended.
People in ordinary life
Disclosure can serve different purposes
Members may tell relatives and friends so those people understand changes in routines, meeting attendance, or recovery. A member may choose to speak with a healthcare professional, spiritual adviser, or other trusted person when that conversation supports care or understanding.
Workplace disclosure is also personal, but it deserves forethought. The official A.A. FAQ cautions against using membership to seek special favors. Employment, leave, accommodation, and healthcare questions may also involve policies or laws outside A.A.; A.A. literature is not employment or legal advice.
Family and friends
Tell them what you want kept private, and ask them not to identify other A.A. members they may meet through you.
Someone who may need help
A member may choose to share personal recovery experience. That is different from making promises about what A.A. will do for another person.
Professional care
A.A. membership can be relevant information in a private conversation with a qualified professional. The member still chooses what to disclose.
Public audiences
Once a message is publicly available and identifies the person as an A.A. member, the public-level anonymity guidance applies.
Privacy is not a demand for silence about harm
A.A. members understand that personal disclosures made in meetings are to be treated as confidential, but a group cannot control what every attendee may later repeat. Anonymity is not a cloak for dangerous, inappropriate, or criminal conduct. A.A. says that reporting such conduct or contacting the proper authorities does not go against the Traditions.
Read A.A.’s complete safety answer opens AA.org