Posting someone’s license plate online is not automatically illegal, but it can cross into federal and state law violations depending on your intent and what you do with the information. That distinction matters more than most people realize.
A federal law called the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act already limits what can be done with information tied to a license plate. Most people have never heard of it.
The act carries real civil penalties, and several states have added their own harassment and stalking statutes that can apply when plates are posted with harmful intent. The line between legal and illegal is thinner than social media culture suggests.
This article breaks down exactly where that line sits in 2026, what laws apply, which states have added their own rules, and what consequences you could face.
Is It Illegal to Post Someone’s License Plate?
Posting someone’s license plate is not automatically illegal, but it becomes illegal the moment it connects to protected personal information or is done with intent to harm, harass, or stalk. That’s the core legal reality for 2026.
A license plate itself is displayed publicly on every vehicle on the road. Seeing it, photographing it, and noting it down is generally legal. The legal exposure begins when you take that plate number and combine it with other identifying information, attempt to use it to locate someone, or post it in a context that could facilitate harassment.
The federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, codified at 18 U.S.C. 2721 through 2725, restricts the disclosure of personal information obtained from motor vehicle records. If someone uses your plate to pull DMV records and then shares that connected data online, that’s where a DPPA violation begins.
Quick Facts:
- Posting a plate number alone is not federally prohibited in most contexts
- Connecting a plate to personal DMV data without authorization violates the DPPA
- State harassment, stalking, and doxxing laws can independently make posting illegal
- Intent matters significantly in how courts and law enforcement assess these cases
- The DPPA was upheld as constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in Reno v. Condon (2000)
The short answer most people need: posting a plate photo from a public street is probably legal on its own. Posting it alongside someone’s name, address, or personal details, or posting it to encourage others to harass that person, is where the law gets involved.
Is It Illegal to Post Someone’s License Plate Online?
Posting someone’s license plate online without connecting it to personal information is generally legal under federal law, but state laws and context can change that outcome quickly. Federal law focuses on the data attached to the plate, not the plate image itself.
The DPPA was enacted in 1994 after a stalker obtained an actress’s home address through her vehicle’s license plate and DMV records. The law was a direct response to the idea that a plate is a gateway to personal information. It restricts what entities can do with motor vehicle record data, primarily targeting DMVs, data brokers, and organizations with access to official records.
For an average person posting a plate photo on social media, the DPPA risk is lower if they’re only sharing the plate image and not linking it to DMV-sourced personal information. But other laws fill the gap.
Scenarios where posting a plate online becomes legally risky:
- Posting the plate with the intent to encourage others to confront the owner
- Sharing the plate alongside the owner’s personal information (doxxing)
- Posting in a way that facilitates stalking or tracking of the vehicle owner
- Repeated posting of the same person’s plate as part of a harassment campaign
- Posting combined with explicit threats against the plate owner
State laws on cyberstalking, harassment, and doxxing operate independently of the DPPA. In states with strong anti-doxxing laws, posting a plate online with harmful intent can trigger criminal charges even when no DMV data was used.
Is It Illegal to Post a License Plate?
Posting a license plate is legal in most situations when it’s a photo taken in a public space and shared without connecting it to personal identifying information. Public spaces have no reasonable expectation of privacy.
License plates are required by law to be displayed visibly on vehicles. Courts have consistently held that information visible in public, including license plates, is not inherently private. Taking a photo of a plate in a parking lot or on a street is not a violation of any federal or state law on its own.
The legal complications arise from what happens next. The plate number is a key that unlocks motor vehicle records. Those records contain the owner’s name, address, and other personal information protected under the DPPA.
| Posting Scenario | Generally Legal? | Key Risk Factor |
|---|---|---|
| Photo of plate in public, no personal info attached | Yes | Low risk |
| Plate number posted with owner’s name and address | No | DPPA and doxxing laws |
| Plate shared to report traffic violation to authorities | Yes | Permitted use under DPPA |
| Plate posted with call for others to confront driver | Likely not | Harassment statutes |
| Plate posted repeatedly targeting same person | Likely not | Stalking statutes |
| Plate in news/journalism context | Generally yes | First Amendment protections apply |
The act of posting is not the offense. The offense is what the posting enables, facilitates, or combines with. That’s the framework courts and law enforcement use when these cases come up.
Key Takeaway: Posting a license plate photo taken in a public place is generally legal on its own, but combining it with personal information, or posting it to encourage harassment, moves it into federal and state law violation territory.
Is a License Plate Number Considered Private Information?
A license plate number is not private information in the traditional sense because it’s displayed publicly on every vehicle, but the personal information it can unlock through DMV records absolutely is protected private data. That distinction is the foundation of the entire legal debate.
The plate itself is public. The records tied to it are not. Under the DPPA, motor vehicle records including the owner’s name, address, phone number, and other identifying information are protected personal data. Accessing or disclosing that data without a permitted purpose is a federal violation.
Think of it like a phone number listed on a public billboard. The number is visible to everyone. But using that number to access someone’s account records, medical history, or financial information would be unauthorized. The plate is the billboard. The DMV record is the protected account.
What is and isn’t protected:
- The plate number itself: public, not protected
- The vehicle owner’s name tied to the plate: protected under DPPA
- The owner’s home address tied to the plate: protected under DPPA
- The vehicle description associated with the plate: partially protected
- Driving history connected to the plate: protected under DPPA
Most people posting a plate online don’t have access to DMV records directly. But data brokers and lookup services can connect plates to personal information quickly, which is why even posting just the plate number online can create pathways to a privacy violation for the vehicle owner.
Driver’s Privacy Protection Act and License Plate Posting
The Driver’s Privacy Protection Act is the primary federal law governing what can be done with information connected to a license plate. It was enacted as 18 U.S.C. 2721 through 2725 and restricts the disclosure of personal information from motor vehicle records.
The DPPA was passed by Congress in 1994 after high-profile cases of stalking and harassment where perpetrators obtained victims’ addresses through license plate lookups at state DMVs. The law applies to state DMVs, resellers of motor vehicle data, and any person who knowingly obtains or discloses protected information from those records.
The law lists 14 specific permitted purposes for accessing motor vehicle record data. These include law enforcement, government functions, court proceedings, motor vehicle safety recalls, insurance purposes, and licensed private investigators operating within the law. Personal curiosity, entertainment, and social media posting are not permitted purposes.
| DPPA Permitted Use Category | Who It Applies To |
|---|---|
| Law enforcement functions | Police, federal agencies |
| Government agency functions | State and federal bodies |
| Motor vehicle safety and recall | Manufacturers, safety groups |
| Insurance and anti-fraud purposes | Licensed insurers |
| Licensed private investigative work | PIs operating lawfully |
| Court proceedings and legal process | Attorneys, courts |
| Research activities (if no personal ID disclosed) | Academic researchers |
| Towing and repossession (limited) | Licensed operators |
Individual social media users generally do not access DMV records directly. But if someone uses a commercial lookup service, a data broker, or an insider contact to pull DMV data and then posts it online, they’re squarely inside DPPA territory.
The DPPA also applies to resellers of that data. A website that aggregates plate-to-person lookups and sells access is subject to DPPA enforcement by the Department of Justice.
Can You Post Someone’s License Plate on Social Media?
Posting someone’s license plate on social media is not automatically illegal, but the platform, the context, and the content surrounding the plate all affect the legal risk. Most platforms have their own rules that go beyond what the law requires.
From a strictly federal legal standpoint, posting a plate photo on social media without accompanying personal information and without intent to harass is generally not a DPPA violation. The DPPA targets disclosure of information from motor vehicle records, not plate photos taken in public.
State laws add complexity. Several states have enacted cyberstalking, online harassment, and doxxing statutes that can apply when a plate is posted in a targeting context, even without DMV-sourced data.
Platform-specific considerations:
- Facebook and Instagram have policies against posting content intended to harass or target individuals
- Reddit has subreddit-specific rules, and some communities actively share plate photos in road rage contexts
- TikTok prohibits content that facilitates harassment of individuals
- Twitter/X has policies against targeted harassment but enforcement is inconsistent
- YouTube allows plate-visible dashcam footage in most contexts
The practical reality is that platforms will remove content before any legal action happens. A takedown doesn’t prove the post was illegal. But it does create a record that the platform identified the content as potentially harmful.
Key Takeaway: Social media posts showing a license plate are generally not federally illegal on their own, but state harassment laws, platform policies, and the intent behind the post all determine whether that changes.
Is Posting a License Plate Online Considered Harassment?
Posting a license plate online can constitute harassment when it’s done with the intent to target, intimidate, or encourage others to confront the plate owner. Intent and pattern of behavior are the determining factors.
Harassment laws at the state level don’t require physical contact or direct threats. Many states define harassment as a course of conduct that causes a reasonable person to feel fear, distress, or emotional harm. Posting someone’s plate repeatedly, especially with inflammatory commentary, can meet that definition.
The key legal test in most states is whether a reasonable person in the target’s position would feel harassed, alarmed, or distressed by the posting. Courts look at the totality of the conduct, not just one isolated post.
| State | Relevant Statute | Harassment Definition Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| California | Penal Code 646.9, Civil Code 1708.7 | Course of conduct causing fear or distress |
| New York | Penal Law 240.25, 240.26 | Intent to alarm or seriously annoy |
| Texas | Penal Code 42.07 | Intent to harass, annoy, alarm, torment |
| Florida | Statute 784.048 | Repeated following or harassment causing distress |
| Illinois | 720 ILCS 5/12-7.3 | Course of conduct causing emotional distress |
A single post showing a plate after a traffic incident is unlikely to meet the legal threshold for harassment. A series of posts targeting the same vehicle, calling for confrontation, or combining the plate with personal attacks against the owner crosses into harassment territory in virtually every state.
Can Posting a License Plate Be Considered Stalking?
Yes, posting someone’s license plate online can be considered stalking in some states when it’s part of a pattern of behavior designed to monitor, track, or intimidate the vehicle owner. Cyberstalking laws cover online conduct that enables real-world following.
Stalking typically requires a course of conduct, meaning repeated acts rather than a single incident. Most state stalking statutes require that the conduct cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or experience substantial emotional distress.
Posting a plate could be one element in a stalking pattern. If someone posts a plate, follows the vehicle, contacts the owner repeatedly, and posts again, each act contributes to the course of conduct that meets the stalking definition.
How license plate posting connects to stalking law:
- Posting the plate to help others track the vehicle’s movements
- Coordinating with others to follow the vehicle based on posted plate information
- Posting the plate alongside the vehicle owner’s known schedule or location
- Using plate posts to communicate implicit threats to the owner
- Repeated posts targeting the same vehicle over time
Federal cyberstalking law under 18 U.S.C. 2261A applies to conduct that uses electronic communications to place someone in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury. For extreme cases where plate posting escalates to threats, federal charges are possible.
Most stalking prosecutions involving license plates occur at the state level, where prosecutors combine the plate posting with other acts to establish the required pattern.
Is It Legal to Post a License Plate to Report Bad Driving?
Posting a license plate to report bad driving is generally legal, but the way you do it determines whether it stays within legal boundaries. Reporting to authorities is always the safest route.
Sharing a dashcam clip or plate photo with police to report a traffic violation, reckless driving, or hit-and-run is a permitted use of that information. Law enforcement functions are explicitly listed as permitted uses under the DPPA, and reporting a crime is not harassment.
Posting the same clip on social media to publicly shame the driver occupies a grayer legal space. The intent is arguably public safety. But if the post invites others to harass the driver, threatens the driver, or includes personal information about the driver, the legal protection evaporates.
Legally safer approaches to reporting bad driving:
- Submit dashcam footage directly to local police or traffic enforcement agencies
- Report to your state’s DMV if the conduct relates to a commercial vehicle
- Use official city or state reporting platforms for traffic violations
- Post dashcam video online without the driver’s personal information if sharing publicly
Legally riskier approaches:
- Posting with the driver’s name, address, or workplace
- Asking followers to confront or report the driver en masse
- Posting with explicit insults or threats directed at the driver
- Doxxing the driver based on information obtained through a plate lookup
The line is intent and context. Documenting bad driving for public safety awareness is different from targeting a specific person for public shaming with personal details attached.
Key Takeaway: Reporting bad driving to authorities using a plate photo is legal and encouraged. Turning it into a public shaming campaign with personal information attached is where legal exposure begins.
State Laws on Posting License Plates Online
State laws on posting license plates online vary significantly, and several states have enacted specific statutes covering online harassment, doxxing, and cyberstalking that go well beyond the federal DPPA framework. Where you live or where the target lives determines which laws apply.
No state has a law specifically titled “license plate posting restriction.” Instead, applicable laws come from each state’s harassment, stalking, doxxing, and computer crime statutes. These laws were not written with license plates in mind, but they apply whenever the act of posting a plate facilitates the harm those statutes are designed to prevent.
| State | Relevant Law | Specific Provision |
|---|---|---|
| California | Civil Code 1798.90.5 | Restricts disclosure of personal info obtained from DMV data |
| Texas | Penal Code 42.07 | Harassment via electronic communication |
| New York | Penal Law 240.30 | Aggravated harassment in the second degree |
| Florida | Statute 784.048 | Cyberstalking, repeated electronic contact |
| Illinois | 720 ILCS 5/12-7.5 | Cyberstalking statute |
| Virginia | Code 18.2-152.7:1 | Harassment by computer |
| Washington | RCW 9A.46.110 | Stalking, including electronic means |
Several states have introduced or passed explicit anti-doxxing laws in recent years. California, Nevada, and Illinois are among the states where doxxing someone by combining their plate with personal details and posting it online could trigger civil liability or criminal charges.
The trend heading into 2026 is toward broader state coverage. More states are updating their harassment and stalking statutes to explicitly include online conduct and electronic publication of identifying information.
California License Plate Privacy Law
California has some of the strongest vehicle privacy protections in the country, including specific restrictions on using license plate reader data and motor vehicle record information. The state’s framework goes beyond what federal law requires.
California Civil Code 1798.90.5 restricts how automated license plate reader data can be retained and shared. While this primarily targets law enforcement and commercial ALPRs, it reflects California’s broader commitment to vehicle privacy as a recognized interest.
For individuals posting plates online, California Penal Code 646.9 (stalking) and Civil Code 1708.7 (stalking civil liability) apply when plate posting is part of a pattern of conduct causing fear. California’s doxxing provisions, while not always explicitly called doxxing laws, cover the disclosure of personal information with intent to cause harm.
California-specific rules for license plate posting:
- ALPR data collected by private companies cannot be sold or shared for non-permitted purposes
- Plate data obtained from any source cannot be used to harass, stalk, or threaten
- Combining a plate with personal information and posting it to cause fear triggers Penal Code 646.9 exposure
- Civil Code 1708.7 allows victims to sue for damages when stalking conduct occurs online
- California’s CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) adds additional protections for personal information, including vehicle-related data in some commercial contexts
California courts have addressed cases where online platforms were used to share personal information facilitating real-world harm. The state’s regulatory posture suggests continued expansion of vehicle privacy protections as ALPR technology becomes more widespread.
Penalties for Posting Someone’s License Plate Online
The penalties for posting someone’s license plate online depend on which law is violated, ranging from civil damages under the DPPA to criminal charges under state stalking or harassment statutes. There is no single flat penalty that applies to every case.
Under the DPPA at 18 U.S.C. 2724, a person who knowingly obtains, discloses, or uses personal information from motor vehicle records for a purpose not permitted by the law faces a civil lawsuit. The statute provides for:
DPPA Civil Penalties:
- Actual damages (whatever the victim can prove they lost)
- Statutory damages of at least $2,500 per violation
- Punitive damages if the court finds the conduct warrants them
- Reasonable attorney fees and litigation costs
- Equitable relief, including injunctions stopping further disclosure
| Violation Type | Potential Penalty | Who Can Sue |
|---|---|---|
| DPPA violation (civil) | $2,500 minimum per violation, plus actual and punitive damages | The vehicle owner |
| State harassment (criminal) | Misdemeanor: up to 1 year jail, up to $1,000 fine in many states | State prosecution |
| State stalking (criminal) | Felony in some states: 1 to 5 years imprisonment | State prosecution |
| Federal cyberstalking (18 U.S.C. 2261A) | Up to 5 years federal prison | Federal prosecution |
| Civil doxxing lawsuit | Actual damages, emotional distress damages, injunctive relief | The victim |
The $2,500 minimum statutory damage under the DPPA is per violation, not per lawsuit. If someone posted a plate with connected DMV data multiple times, each disclosure could theoretically be a separate violation with its own $2,500 minimum.
Can You Be Sued for Posting Someone’s License Plate?
Yes, you can be sued for posting someone’s license plate online, and depending on the facts, you could face both civil lawsuits and criminal charges simultaneously. The grounds for a civil lawsuit are broader than most people expect.
A civil lawsuit can be brought under the DPPA if motor vehicle record data was involved. It can also be brought under state tort law for invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, or civil harassment statutes. Some states, including California, have specific civil stalking statutes that allow victims to recover damages for online harassment conduct.
The person suing doesn’t need to prove they suffered physical harm. Emotional distress damages are recoverable in civil cases when the conduct is extreme and outrageous enough. Repeated targeting of someone online using their plate number, combined with threatening or humiliating content, can meet that standard.
Grounds for a civil lawsuit after plate posting:
- DPPA violation if motor vehicle record data was disclosed
- Invasion of privacy (public disclosure of private facts)
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
- Civil harassment under state statutes
- Civil stalking if the posting was part of a pattern
Attorney fees are recoverable under the DPPA, which makes these cases attractive for plaintiffs’ attorneys. If the victim wins, the defendant pays both the damages and the attorney fees. That creates real financial exposure even in cases where the original damages seem modest.
Key Takeaway: Civil lawsuits for license plate posting are possible under multiple legal theories, and DPPA cases come with a $2,500 minimum per violation plus the potential for attorney fee recovery, making them viable claims even in non-catastrophic situations.
What Happens If You Post Someone’s License Plate Online?
What happens after you post someone’s license plate online depends entirely on what you posted, why, and what the target does about it. The range of outcomes runs from nothing at all to a federal civil lawsuit.
In the most common scenario, where someone posts a dashcam clip of a near-miss or a road rage incident, nothing legal happens. The post may get engagement or criticism. The platform may leave it up or take it down based on its own policies. Without connected personal information and without a pattern of harassment, no law is clearly broken.
In more serious scenarios, the consequences escalate quickly:
| Scenario | Likely Outcome |
|---|---|
| Plate photo posted alone, no harassment | No legal consequence likely |
| Plate posted with owner’s address and name | DPPA civil claim, possible state doxxing charge |
| Plate posted repeatedly targeting same person | Criminal harassment or stalking investigation |
| Plate posted with explicit threat | Criminal threatening charge, possible federal cyberstalking |
| Plate posted to incite others to confront driver | Civil liability, potential criminal charge depending on state |
| Plate posted and victim reports to police | Investigation opened, charges possible depending on facts |
Law enforcement response depends heavily on the victim making a report. Many plate-posting harassment cases go unaddressed simply because the victim doesn’t know they have legal recourse. When a formal complaint is filed, police can subpoena social media records to identify the poster and document the conduct.
The poster’s identity is rarely as anonymous as they think. Social media accounts, IP addresses, and device data are all recoverable with proper legal process.
Social Media Platform Rules on License Plate Posting
Social media platforms have their own content policies on license plate posting that operate independently of the law, and in some cases they’re stricter than what the law requires. Getting a post removed is not proof you committed a crime, but it does mean the platform found it violated their rules.
Each major platform handles license plate content differently, but the common thread is that posting a plate in a context that facilitates harassment violates most platform terms of service, regardless of whether it violates a law.
Platform policies summary:
- Facebook/Instagram (Meta): Prohibits content that facilitates harassment, bullying, or targeting of private individuals. Plate images combined with personal information or calls to confront the driver are subject to removal.
- Reddit: Rules vary by subreddit. Some communities actively share plate images. Site-wide rules prohibit doxxing, which includes combining plates with personal information.
- TikTok: Prohibits content designed to harass individuals. Plate content in road rage videos is common but can be reported and removed when targeting is clear.
- Twitter/X: Anti-harassment policies exist but enforcement is inconsistent. Doxxing policies technically prohibit posting personal information, which could include plate-plus-identity combinations.
- YouTube: Dashcam content including plates is widely allowed. Content designed to target or harass an individual based on their plate can be removed under harassment policies.
Platform removal has practical consequences. It creates a record that the platform identified the content as problematic. In civil or criminal cases, that record can be introduced as evidence of the poster’s awareness that the content was targeting someone.
Is It Legal to Photograph Someone’s License Plate?
Photographing someone’s license plate is legal in all 50 states when done in a public place, because there is no reasonable expectation of privacy for items displayed in public. This is one of the clearest legal answers in this entire topic.
License plates are required by every state to be displayed visibly and legibly on the exterior of vehicles. By requiring public display, states have effectively removed any privacy expectation from the plate itself. Courts have consistently held that photographing items visible in public spaces does not constitute a privacy violation.
Police, journalists, insurance investigators, and ordinary citizens photograph license plates routinely and legally. The DPPA does not restrict photographing a plate. It restricts accessing and disclosing the personal information that can be obtained through official motor vehicle records tied to that plate.
Photography is legal. These related actions may not be:
- Using the photo to run a lookup through unauthorized channels
- Combining the photo with personal data from DMV records and sharing it
- Using repeated photography of someone’s vehicle as part of a stalking pattern
- Publishing the plate photo with intent to harass the vehicle owner
The act of photographing is where the legal clarity exists. What you do with the photograph afterward is where the law becomes situational and context-dependent.
Quick Facts:
- Photographing a plate in public is legal in all 50 states
- No federal or state law prohibits public photography of license plates
- The legal issues arise from use, publication, and combination with other data
- Filming plates as part of consistent surveillance of a specific vehicle can support a stalking claim
- Journalism and documentary contexts are broadly protected under the First Amendment
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to post someone’s license plate number online?
It is not automatically illegal to post a license plate number online, but it can become illegal depending on context and intent.
If the plate is combined with personal information from motor vehicle records, the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. 2721) may be violated.
State harassment, stalking, and doxxing laws can apply even without DMV data if the posting is designed to target or intimidate someone.
A standalone plate photo from a public space, without personal information attached, generally does not violate federal law on its own.
Does the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act apply to social media posts?
The DPPA applies when personal information from motor vehicle records is obtained and disclosed without a permitted purpose, including on social media.
If someone uses a DMV-connected lookup to get the plate owner’s name and address, then posts that information publicly, the DPPA is directly implicated.
The DPPA does not restrict posting a plate image alone, only the disclosure of the personal data accessible through official motor vehicle records.
Civil penalties under the DPPA include at least $2,500 per violation plus attorney fees, making DPPA claims legally significant.
Can you get sued for posting someone’s license plate online?
Yes, you can be sued for posting someone’s license plate online under the DPPA, state doxxing laws, civil harassment statutes, or tort claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
DPPA civil lawsuits allow the victim to recover a minimum of $2,500 per violation plus actual and punitive damages.
State civil stalking statutes in California, Texas, Florida, and other states provide independent grounds for lawsuits.
The poster’s social media account is rarely truly anonymous, as subpoenas can obtain IP and account data to identify them.
Is photographing a license plate in a public place illegal?
No, photographing a license plate in a public place is legal in all 50 states.
License plates are required by law to be displayed publicly, which removes any expectation of privacy from the plate itself.
The legal issues arise from what you do with the photograph, not from the act of taking it.
Repeatedly photographing the same vehicle as part of a surveillance pattern can contribute to a stalking claim, but a single photograph is not illegal.
Can posting a license plate be considered stalking or harassment?
Yes, posting a license plate can be considered stalking or harassment when it is part of a pattern of conduct designed to monitor, target, or intimidate the vehicle owner.
Most state stalking statutes require a course of conduct, meaning repeated acts rather than a single post.
Combining plate posting with other targeting behavior, such as following the vehicle or contacting the owner repeatedly, strengthens a stalking case significantly.
Federal cyberstalking under 18 U.S.C. 2261A applies when electronic communications place someone in reasonable fear of physical harm, covering extreme cases.
Closing
License plate privacy sits at the intersection of federal law, state statutes, and social media culture, and the rules are specific enough that the details genuinely matter. Knowing where the legal lines are keeps you protected whether you’re the one posting or the one being posted about.
Bookmark this article for reference and share it with anyone who’s been caught up in a road rage dispute, a parking lot confrontation, or an online shaming situation involving a plate. The law in 2026 is clearer than most people think, and knowing it changes how you act before a post goes live.
