# Remove a Medium Post About Me: What Works

Remove a Medium post about me: what Medium's rules cover, how to report a story or response, when a legal notice fits and what to do about search results.

---


To remove a Medium post about you, report the story to Medium's Trust & Safety team from the three-dot menu while signed in, and name the specific rule it breaks. Medium removes content that breaks its Rules, such as harassment, doxxing, intimate images posted without consent, impersonation and copyright infringement. A story that is merely unflattering, or that you say is false, is a different matter, and Medium's rules pages do not set up a process for deciding it.

That distinction decides almost everything. A post that publishes your home address belongs in the report queue. A post that calls you a bad business partner belongs in a conversation with the author, or in a lawyer's office, and Medium is unlikely to settle it for you. This guide follows the Medium pages as read for this article and flags where they stay silent.

The second half covers search: a deleted story can linger in results, and a story that stays up keeps ranking. Both have a procedure.

<div class="box"><b>The short version</b>
<ul><li>Medium acts on its Rules (harassment, privacy, impersonation, copyright and similar). Its pages we read do not set out a process for judging whether a story is defamatory.</li><li>Report the story, response or profile from the three-dot menu while signed in. For other issues, Medium offers separate forms for copyright, trademark, general rule violations and illegal content under the EU Digital Services Act.</li><li>Writing to the author, or to a publication's editors, is a real route for accurate-but-unfair or outdated stories. It is also the only route that can end in a correction rather than a deletion.</li><li>A copyright notice works only if you own the work. A defamation or privacy claim that Medium will not act on goes to a lawyer, and a court order is the strongest tool.</li><li>After the story is gone, ask the search engine to refresh the stale result. If it stays up, work on what ranks around it.</li></ul></div>

## What Medium's rules cover and what they leave out

Medium's Rules cover conduct and a defined list of harmful content, not the truth of what a story says about you. The policy says Medium considers newsworthiness, context, potential harm, account history and applicable law when it judges a violation, and that it has "the sole authority and final decision" on whether a rule was broken. Read on the [Medium Rules page](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/213477928-Medium-Rules), the parts that matter to someone written about are these.

**Harassment.** The policy says Medium does not allow bullying, threatening, mocking or shaming people, or content likely to encourage others to do so. It also names repeated or targeted campaigns and the use of features such as responses, mentions, follows or lists to annoy a person.

**Privacy.** The policy says sharing private communications requires the consent of everyone involved, and that redacting names does not remove that requirement. It prohibits doxxing, including compiling public information to target or endanger a person, and intimate or explicit images posted without the subject's express consent. It also lists sensitive information that may not be posted, such as credit card and social security numbers, non-public phone numbers, physical addresses and email addresses.

**Impersonation.** The policy says impersonating a person or organization in a way likely to deceive is prohibited. Parody and satire are allowed if the content makes clear that it is parody or satire.

**Copyright and trademark.** The policy says users must have permission to post what they publish. Copyright notices follow the separate Copyright and DMCA Policy, described below.

What is missing from that list matters as much. In the pages we read, the Rules never use the words defamation or libel and do not treat a false statement about a person as a category of its own. The nearest heading, Privacy and Reputation, covers private communications, doxxing, intimate images and sensitive data, not accuracy. Medium's Terms of Service describe a dispute process between a user and Medium, not between users over what a story says. The policy also says that Medium "may" enforce or decline to enforce its rules at its discretion, and that its policies do not create a legal duty to act. Plan on that basis: a report is a request, not an entitlement.

<aside class="callout">
<span class="callout-label">Limit</span>
<h4>No rule is not the same as no remedy</h4>
<p>If the story fits none of Medium's listed rules, a report is unlikely to succeed. That says nothing about whether the story is lawful. Defamation and privacy law sit outside the platform, and they vary by country.</p>
</aside>

## How to report a Medium story, response or profile

Report from inside the product while signed in, and be specific about the rule. The Help Center page [Report posts, lists, and users](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/217047977-Report-posts-lists-and-users) says you must be signed in to report, and that reports are reviewed by Medium's Trust & Safety team for Rules violations, with "appropriate actions" taken. It does not state what those actions are, how long review takes or whether the reporter is told the outcome. Do not assume any of the three.

<figure class="fig">
<figcaption><b>Report a story on desktop</b></figcaption>
<ol class="fig-steps">
<li><b>Save the evidence first</b>Capture the full URL, the author's profile address, the publication name if there is one, and dated screenshots of the passages that matter. If the story is removed, you will need these for any search request or legal letter.</li>
<li><b>Sign in</b>Medium's page says reporting stories, lists and users requires a signed-in account.</li>
<li><b>Open the three-dot button</b>Open the story and select the three-dot button at the bottom, then choose Report story. The page lists the equivalent steps for a list, a user and a private note. It gives one set of steps and does not spell out a separate mobile path, so look for the same menu in the app.</li>
<li><b>Pick the closest reason</b>Choose the reason that matches a rule in the list above: harassment, private information, impersonation or another. A vague reason is easier to decline.</li>
<li><b>Use the forms for what the button cannot carry</b>Medium's Reporting Other Issues page links four forms: copyright, trademark, general violations of its Rules or policies, and content deemed illegal under the EU Digital Services Act. Use the general form to add detail that the menu does not allow.</li>
</ol>
</figure>

### Comments, which Medium calls responses

The policy says the report option sits in the three-dot menu on any post, response or account page, so a hostile or doxxing response can be reported the same way as a story. The author of the story also has direct control. Medium's page on managing responses says the story's author can hide a response, which stops it showing on the story, can close the discussion, or can hide all responses. It notes that the response's author is not notified when a response is hidden. If you are the target of a response on someone else's story, asking that author to hide it is often faster than a report.

## A publication story is a different case

Medium hosts publications, which are collections of stories edited by a team. The pages we read describe reporting a story, a list, a user and a private note. They do not describe a separate report for a publication as such, so report the story itself and, where it fits, the account that submitted it.

The editors are a second route. The Medium Publications Best Practices and Guidelines page says editors should not delete a story without the writer's agreement, and it describes editors and writers as collaborators with equal editing permissions. We read that as meaning an editor will usually go back to the author before acting, which shapes how you write to them.

Write to the editors with one concrete change, say whether the issue is a rule violation or a factual error, and attach what proves it.

The same page says it does not describe how writers or editors remove stories from a publication, so we do not assume that route exists in any given case. Ask the editors what they can do.

## Defamation: what Medium does not decide

A claim that a story is false and damaging is a legal claim, and the pages we read do not give Medium a role in judging it. The Terms of Service state that you retain rights in the content you post, that Medium may remove content that violates the Terms and Rules, and that you are responsible for your content. They say nothing about defamation, and they name a Medium legal address for written notices of claims. That tells you where a lawyer's letter may go. It does not tell you that Medium will act on it.

Two consequences follow.

1. **A report that says "this is false" will usually fail on its own.** Medium cannot know the facts, and its Rules page frames decisions around its own list. If the false statement is also, say, a doxxing post or an impersonation, report it under that rule, because that is the rule that fits.
2. **Defamation law differs by country.** The tests, defenses and time limits are not the same in the US, the UK, Australia and the EU, and a story's author and audience may sit in different places. Take advice from a lawyer in the relevant country before sending anything that threatens a claim.

## The legal notice route: copyright and court orders

Copyright is the one legal route Medium describes in full, and it works only for material you own. If the story uses your photograph, your text or your video without permission, the process is set out in the [Copyright and DMCA Policy](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/214120487-Copyright-DMCA-Policy):

- You send a notice through Medium's contact form, by email to its copyright address or by mail to its designated agent.
- The notice must contain a signature, identification of your work, identification of the infringing material (a link to the post), your contact details, a statement of good-faith belief that the use is unauthorized, and a statement under penalty of perjury that the notice is accurate.
- Medium processes notices in the order received, may respond by removing or restricting access to the material, tries to notify the account holder with a copy of the notice, and forwards the complaint to Lumen, a public database of takedown requests.
- The account holder can file a counter-notice. The policy says Medium forwards the counter-notice to the original sender, and that if the sender does not indicate within 10 business days that it is seeking a court order, Medium may restore the material.

<aside class="callout">
<span class="callout-label">Warning</span>
<h4>Do not file a notice you cannot support</h4>
<p>Medium's copyright page warns that knowingly misrepresenting infringement can expose the sender to liability for damages and fees. Use the copyright route only for a work you own.</p>
</aside>

For other claims, the pages we read describe no Medium-specific court-order procedure. The Rules say Medium submits government requests to restrict access to content to the Lumen database, so assume a legal request is not private. A court order, where one exists, is a document you or your counsel send to Medium, and the Terms point written notices to Medium's legal address. Do not draft an order yourself; that is a lawyer's task.

If the issue is a leaked intimate image, skip the general forms: the Rules prohibit it outright, and our [leak removal](/leak-removal) service exists for exactly that case.

<figure class="keyfacts">
<div class="keyfacts-grid">
<div><b>Four</b><span>report forms on Medium's Reporting Other Issues page</span></div>
<div><b>10 business days</b><span>counter-notice wait stated in the copyright policy</span></div>
<div><b>No stated time</b><span>the report pages give no response time</span></div>
</div>
<p class="fig-src">Source: Medium Help Center pages Reporting Other Issues, Copyright &amp; DMCA Policy and Report posts, lists, and users, as read for this article.</p>
</figure>

## Write to the author or the editors first when the rules do not fit

If the story breaks none of the listed rules, the author is your only route to a correction, and a direct request can work where a report cannot. Authors can edit or delete their own stories. Medium's page on story types says deletion is permanent, and that published posts cannot be turned back into drafts, so an author who wants to take a story down has a clear, final option.

A request has a better chance if it asks for something small and checkable, such as correcting a wrong date with the record attached, rather than demanding that the author give up the work.

Keep it short, polite and documented. Do not threaten or post in the story's responses: a hostile exchange gives the author more to write about, and a cease-and-desist can produce a second story. Before you write, read the story honestly: if what it says about you is accurate and in the public interest, no route will remove it, and our work there is correction and context, never concealment.

Scenario, with invented parties: a founder finds a story by a former contractor that gets the founder's company's launch date wrong and implies the founder misled customers. It breaks no Medium rule. The founder writes a calm note to the author with the dated launch announcement attached, asks for the date to be corrected and an update line added, and does not demand removal. An author can grant that in one edit.

## Which route fits your situation

Match the problem to the route before you file, because a mismatched report wastes weeks.

<div class="tablewrap"><table><thead><tr><th>Situation</th><th>Best route</th><th>What it can remove</th><th>Main risk</th></tr></thead><tbody>
<tr><td><strong>Your home address, ID number or private messages posted</strong></td><td>Report as private information</td><td>The story or the detail</td><td>Medium decides alone</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Fake profile using your name or photo</strong></td><td>Report user as impersonation</td><td>The profile</td><td>Parody exception</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Your own photo or text used without permission</strong></td><td>Copyright notice</td><td>The infringing post</td><td>Liability if the notice is wrong</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Hostile response under someone's story</strong></td><td>Ask the story's author to hide it, or report the response</td><td>The response</td><td>Author may not act</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Factual error in an otherwise fair story</strong></td><td>Written request to the author or editors</td><td>A correction, sometimes the story</td><td>May prompt a reply post</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Story you say is false and damaging</strong></td><td>Lawyer, then notice or court order</td><td>The story, if a court or the author agrees</td><td>Cost, and a second story</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Accurate but unflattering story</strong></td><td>Search work, not removal</td><td>Nothing at the source</td><td>Wasted requests</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>

## The search copy: what to do when the story is gone or stays

Removing the story at its source and removing it from search results are two separate acts. Search engines keep an index, and a page that has been taken down can still appear in results, with an old snippet, until the engine recrawls it. The Medium pages we read do not say whether search engines index stories, so do not assume either way; check by searching your name with the author's name or a quoted line from the story.

**If the story has been deleted.** Google's [Refresh outdated content](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/6349986) tool covers content removed from a site that still appears in results because the description or cache is outdated. The page says that if you have already updated a live page you do not have to fill out the form, and it lets you track a request in Search Console. It does not state processing times or promise a change. Other search engines have their own procedures, and Bing's differ, so check the engine's own page for each.

**If the story stays up and contains private information.** Google's page on removing personal information says you can request removal of results showing contact details, confidential government ID numbers, bank or card numbers and similar, and doxxing content that combines personal details with threats or has no legitimate purpose. It says full removal means the page no longer appears in Search, while partial removal means it does not appear for searches containing your name or identifier. It also says Google may keep content that is newsworthy or important to the public, and that it can only remove things from Search: the story stays online. See [Google's page on removing personal information from Search](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/9673730) for the form.

**If the story is lawful but you say it is defamatory.** Google's legal removal troubleshooter offers a defamation option, described as typically a false statement damaging reputation, and a court-order option for content a court has determined is unlawful. It says Google typically removes or restricts access only in the country or region where the content is deemed illegal, and that a report through a policy path does not serve as legal notice. These are separate reports, filed separately. The page gives no general evidence checklist for defamation.

A free check of what surfaces for your name, before and after any request, is the [Page One Score](/page-one-score).

## A realistic timeline

Expect days for a clear-cut rule violation, weeks for a negotiated correction or a search refresh, and months when a lawyer is involved. Medium publishes no response time on the pages we read, so these figures are our experience, written as ranges and as typical patterns, never as promises.

<div class="tablewrap"><table><thead><tr><th>Stage</th><th>Usually</th><th>What you do</th></tr></thead><tbody>
<tr><td><strong>Evidence and route choice</strong></td><td>1 to 2 days</td><td>Capture the story, pick the rule or the route</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Report to Medium</strong></td><td>Days to a few weeks, sometimes no reply</td><td>File once, keep the record, avoid duplicate reports</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Request to the author or editors</strong></td><td>A few days to two weeks for a first reply</td><td>One polite request, one follow-up</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Copyright notice and counter-notice window</strong></td><td>The policy sets 10 business days for the counter-notice step</td><td>Wait; do not resend</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Search refresh after deletion</strong></td><td>Days to weeks</td><td>Submit the stale URL, then re-check</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Legal route</strong></td><td>Weeks to months</td><td>Advice from a lawyer, then a letter or an order</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>

## What a refusal leaves you

A refusal or silence from Medium does not end the matter; it narrows it to the routes outside the platform. The policy says Medium's decision is final and that its enforcement is discretionary. The appeals page we read addresses people whose own content or account was restricted, so do not read it as an appeal route for a reporter whose report was declined.

What remains:

- **Contact the author again with a better ask.** A refusal from Medium often means the story fits no rule, which is a reason to move to a correction request.
- **Use the legal routes you have standing for.** Copyright if the work is yours; a lawyer's advice on defamation or privacy in the country that applies; the EU Digital Services Act form if the content is illegal under that law and the facts fit.
- **Work on what ranks.** If the story is accurate or stays up, the aim shifts to making the search page for your name better, with accurate pages you own and control. That is [suppression](/suppress-negative-results), and it is slower, lawful and does not depend on anyone's permission.

## Your next step

<div class="box hot"><b>If this is happening to you now</b>
<p>Capture the story and its URL today, work out which listed rule it breaks, and file one report. If the story is accurate but harmful, or a report has been declined, we can review the file and tell you which route is realistic. Reputation Partners starts with a private audit at <a href="/audit">the audit page</a>.</p></div>

## Questions people ask

### Can I get a Medium story removed just because it is false?

Not by saying so alone. Medium's Rules we read list conduct such as harassment, doxxing, impersonation and copyright, and do not name false statements as a category. If the statement is false and damaging, the route is a request to the author or a legal claim in the relevant country. A lawyer can tell you whether the claim is strong enough to pursue.

### Does Medium tell the author who reported their story?

The pages we read do not say how a reporter's identity is handled. The reporting page does not state whether the author is told who filed a report, and it does not say whether the reporter is told the outcome. For copyright notices, the policy says Medium contacts the account holder with a copy of the notice and forwards it to Lumen, so assume that a legal notice is visible.

### What if the story is in a publication?

Report the story itself, because the pages we read describe reporting stories, lists, users and private notes, not a separate publication report. Also write to the publication's editors with one specific request. The publications guidelines say editors should not delete a story without the writer's agreement, so expect them to consult the author.

### How do I stop the removed story from showing in search?

Removing the source does not remove the old result at once. Use the search engine's refresh tool for outdated content on the exact URL, then re-check. Google's tool states it covers content removed from a site that still appears in results. Other engines have their own forms. If the story is still live, a refresh will not help.

### Can a copyright notice remove a story that criticizes me?

Only if the story uses a work you own, such as your own photograph. Medium's policy requires a sworn statement and warns about liability for knowingly false claims. A story that merely criticizes you is not a copyright issue, and a notice filed for that purpose can cost you more than the story ever did.