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Public vs private consent, explained
Why some testimonials can't be approved — and how the Consent question on your form controls it.
1 MIN READ
If a testimonial's Approve button is missing and instead says "Private only — can't be published", this is why.
Where it comes from
A form can include a Consent page asking the reviewer how their words may be used — by default, "You can use my testimonial publicly in your marketing" versus "You can only use my testimonial privately." Whichever they choose is stored with the testimonial.
What it changes
A testimonial marked private cannot be approved — the option is blocked deliberately, not a bug, so a form's Consent answer is actually honoured rather than being a formality. Since only approved testimonials appear on widgets, walls, your public profile or the API, private consent effectively keeps that testimonial internal-only: still visible in your inbox, still exportable, still yours to read, just never published.
A testimonial with no Consent answer at all — a form with no Consent page, or anything imported — is treated the same as public, and can be approved normally.
What to do with a private one
Nothing needs fixing. Read it, learn from it, tag it if it is useful internally — just do not expect an Approve button. If you want that customer's story published, the honest path is asking them directly, not working around what they already told you.
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