Director privacy in France: reducing exposure of personal information
Published 12/08/2025 · Updated 08/09/2026 · Houssen Issouf Aly, French chartered accountant
Crypto-assets · Companies · Directors
Practical guidance for companies and directors. Revised on 7 September 2026.
Start with the information actually visible
You run a business using crypto-assets and your home address appears in searches for your name. Before purchasing a removal service or changing the company structure, identify the relevant pages. A register entry, an old filing, a commercial directory and a search result require different approaches.
The aim is to reduce unnecessary exposure and track outcomes. It is not a promise of anonymity or a way to remove information needed to meet company obligations. A holding company or nominee should not be presented as an automatic identity shield.
Build a starting inventory
Search your name, the company name and former business addresses. Keep dated evidence in a file with appropriately restricted access.
- Page: exact URL and responsible organisation.
- Information: home address, private phone number, inaccurate detail or old document.
- Context: register, downloadable filing, directory, social network or search engine.
- Action: intended request, responsible person and case reference.
- Outcome: response and subsequent check of the page.
Prioritise information directly exposing private life. Where the registered office is also the home address, assess each occurrence. Hiding one personal-address field does not establish that the address disappears everywhere.
Choose the appropriate register procedure
French official company-registration guidance describes address-concealment requests for eligible directors and certain partners with unlimited liability. Since 5 May 2026, extracts of eligible filings can also limit submitted information under the applicable conditions. Check the person’s status and the relevant procedure.
The INPI guidance distinguishes confidentiality when filing, replacing an existing public document and requesting RCS address concealment without a new deed. Eligible documents may require redacted public and complete confidential versions, with supporting justification. Validation is still required and mandatory information must still be supplied.
Have the versions checked before submission so that required public information is retained. Confirm that redaction actually removes the information: placing a rectangle over text is inadequate if it remains recoverable. Keep receipts and the version accepted.
Contact directories and search engines separately
The CNIL’s register-reuse guidance explains that reuse may be authorised without prior consent. An individual can object on grounds connected with their particular circumstances, subject to assessment of overriding legitimate grounds. Search-engine delisting is a separate request.
Specify the page, the information, your circumstances and the change sought. Avoid a generic demand to remove the entire company. Track the directory’s response, its current page and the search result separately; success on one does not prove that all three have changed.
Keep evidence and follow up
The CNIL’s erasure guidance explains exceptions, including legal retention duties. Identity evidence should be requested only where reasonable doubt exists and remain proportionate. Complex requests may receive an explained extension; an unsatisfactory answer or no response after one month can justify a complaint to the CNIL.
A practical tracking sheet can record sending date, contact, receipt, response, next action and verification date. Store supporting documents with limited access. Do not automatically send a full identity-document copy to every website found.
Fictional example: a director finds her old address in a filing and two directories. She prepares the appropriate register request and follows up with each directory. When one changes its page, she marks that specific item as resolved while continuing to track the others.
Prevent unnecessary new exposure
Review the contact details published on the company site, biographies supplied to organisers and screenshots shared publicly. Wallet screenshots can expose information that was not intended for the audience. Control access to internal files. Professional visibility can coexist with deliberate choices about personal information.
A costly company structure should not be chosen solely on a promise of online invisibility. Compare actual registered-office needs, obligations, administration and services. Uniform budget claims and guarantees of complete removal do not assess your circumstances.
Questions before starting
Should all public presence disappear?
No. Separate useful professional information from unnecessary personal exposure while respecting applicable obligations.
Does one correction resolve every website?
No. Check each identified source and accessible historical document. Record observed results instead of assuming that changes propagate.
How can you prepare a file with HODL?
Collect the URLs and relevant documents. Our support for business owners can help organise the file and appropriate advisers. For company asset access, read the company-wallet guide, or discuss your circumstances with the firm.