automattic/buddypress-hidden-profiles

Hide BuddyPress profiles from non-admins.

1.1.0 2025-05-23 12:31 UTC

Requires

• php: >=8.2
• composer/installers: ^2

Requires (Dev)

• automattic/vipwpcs: ^3
• php-parallel-lint/php-parallel-lint: ^1.0
• phpcompatibility/phpcompatibility-wp: ^2.1
• wp-coding-standards/wpcs: ^3.1

GPL-2.0-or-later

• Automattic

README

Contributors: garyj
Tags: BuddyPress, BuddyBoss, profiles, privacy, admin
Requires at least: 6.6
Tested up to: 6.8
Stable tag: 1.1.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Allows site admins to mark BuddyPress user profiles as hidden, excluding them from directories, searches, and making their profile pages return a 404 for non-admins.

Description

This plugin provides a simple way to hide specific BuddyPress user profiles from non-administrative users. When a profile is marked as hidden:

• The profile page returns a 404 error for non-admins
• The user is excluded from member directories
• The user is excluded from search results
• The user is excluded from AJAX-loaded member lists

Hidden profiles remain visible to:

• The profile owner themselves
• Site administrators
• Users with the manage_options capability

Features

• Simple checkbox interface in the WordPress user profile screen
• Complete profile hiding from non-admins
• Efficient caching of hidden user IDs
• WP-CLI support for bulk operations
• Maintains visibility for admins and profile owners
• Extensible via filters for custom hiding logic

Installation

1. Upload the buddypress-hidden-profiles folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
3. Configure hidden profiles through the WordPress user profile screen or set the user meta value.

Usage

WordPress Admin Interface

1. Go to Users → All Users
2. Click on the user you want to hide
3. Scroll down to the "Profile Visibility" section
4. Check the "Hidden Profile" checkbox
5. Click "Update User"

WP-CLI

You can also manage hidden profiles using WP-CLI:

# Hide a profile
wp user meta update <user_id> profile_visibility hidden

# Unhide a profile
wp user meta delete <user_id> profile_visibility

# Clear the hidden users cache
wp cache delete bp_hidden_user_ids

Extending with Filters

The plugin provides two filters for extending its functionality:

1. buddypress_hidden_profiles_is_hidden

This filter allows you to determine if a specific user's profile should be hidden. It's called when checking individual profiles.

Here's how it could be used:

add_filter(
    'buddypress_hidden_profiles_is_hidden',
    function( $is_hidden, $user_id ) {
        // If another filter has already decided, respect that decision.
        if ( is_bool( $is_hidden ) ) {
            return $is_hidden;
        }

        // Example: Hide users with a specific meta value.
        $should_hide = get_user_meta( $user_id, 'my_custom_meta', true );
        if ( ! empty( $should_hide ) ) {
            return true;
        }

        // Fall back to default check.
        return null;
    },
    10,
    2
);

2. buddypress_hidden_profiles_additional_hidden_ids

This filter allows you to add user IDs to the list of hidden users. It's used in directory listings and should return IDs determined by a performant query.

Here's how it could be used:

add_filter(
    'buddypress_hidden_profiles_additional_hidden_ids',
    function( $additional_hidden ) {
        global $wpdb;
        
        // Example: Get users with a specific meta value in a single query.
        $extra_hidden = $wpdb->get_col(
            $wpdb->prepare(
                "SELECT user_id FROM {$wpdb->usermeta} 
                WHERE meta_key = %s",
                'my_custom_meta'
            )
        );
        
        return array_merge( $additional_hidden, $extra_hidden );
    }
);

Cache Management

The plugin caches the list of hidden IDs for better performance. It automatically clears its cache when:

• A user is registered
• A user is deleted
• A user's role changes

You can also manually clear the cache using WP-CLI:

wp cache delete bp_hidden_user_ids

Requirements

• WordPress 6.6 or higher
• PHP 8.2 or higher
• BuddyPress or BuddyBoss Platform

Troubleshooting

If a hidden profile is still visible:

1. Clear the WordPress object cache
2. Verify the user has the correct meta value: profile_visibility = hidden
3. Check that the viewing user is not an admin or the profile owner
4. Ensure the cache is cleared after making changes
5. Check if any filters are overriding the default behavior

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a complete list of changes.

License

This plugin is licensed under the GPLv2 or later. See LICENSE for details.