Patreon wants to ensure fans understand and are able to manage their data-sharing preferences with creators. By default, subscribing to a creator on Patreon automatically shares your email address with them, and this article explains how to adjust this setting and manage the information you share.
How to view and edit email sharing settings
Make sure you're using the desktop web experience, and, if you are a creator and haven't combined your profiles yet, make sure you switch to your member profile. You can do this by clicking your profile image in the bottom-left corner and selecting Switch to member profile.
- Click Settings from the left side menu (or Personal Settings if you have a combined profile)
- Select Privacy from the menu bar
- Find the Creator email sharing category
- If you'd like to view or modify the current status of your email sharing settings, click on the Edit button
- A pop-up will open, and you'll be able to see whether your email address is currently being shared with creators you currently subscribe to, and the setting that controls whether your email address is shared with new creators
- To disable email sharing with new creators you subscribe to in the future, simply turn off the toggle next to Share your email address with new creators
- If you want to stop sharing your email address with a specific creator you're already subscribed to, find their name in the list and uncheck the box beside it
- To stop sharing your email with all creators, turn off the toggle next to Share your email address with new creators and uncheck the boxes beside each of the names of the creators you are already subscribed to. By doing this, you'll stop sharing your email with all current creators, and it won't be shared with any new creators you subscribe to in the future, unless you adjust the toggle
- When you're done, click Save. Any changes you've made will not go into effect unless you do this.
Key impacts of changing email sharing settings
Changing your email sharing settings only affects whether creators can see your email address. It does not change your email notification preferences, including for posts, updates, or other alerts related to those creators. To learn how to adjust these settings, visit the article on managing email notifications.
Keep in mind that some creators may use email addresses to send you specific benefits, like direct updates or exclusive content. If you disable email sharing, you might miss out on these benefits. Make sure your benefits won't be affected, or that you're comfortable with that trade-off, before you change this setting.
Your email sharing preferences also don't affect a creator's ability to contact you via Patreon's direct messaging system. The direct messaging system is separate and only on Patreon.
In summary, changing your email sharing settings will not affect:
- Your email notifications, including about posts, updates, or platform alerts
- Your shipping address – visit our dedicated article to learn how to update your shipping address
- Your ability to receive direct messages from creators
What is affected:
- Whether creators can see your email address on Patreon
- Your ability to receive benefits by email directly from creators may be affected
FAQ
- Disabling that toggle will stop your email address from being shared with new creators you subscribe to in the future.
- No, disabling that toggle will only stop your email address from being shared with new creators you subscribe to in the future. If you want to stop sharing your email with creators you're already subscribed to, you'll need to unmark the check boxes beside their names as described above.
- Yes, you can disable the toggle next to Share your email address with new creators to stop sharing your email address with all new creators in the future by default. If you want to share your email only with specific creators, you can manually select the boxes for the creators you wish to share your email with.
- If you previously disabled the toggle, turning it on again will cause your email address to resume being shared with the new creators you subscribe to in the future.
- After changing your settings to stop sharing your email address with a creator, your email address remains visible to that creator on Patreon for a buffer period. Email addresses do not stop being shared immediately upon changing these settings because they may be used for benefit fulfillment.