What not to share in a support request

A screenshot or log can solve a problem quickly, but it can also expose information that was never needed. Redact first and share the minimum necessary.

Never share authentication secrets

Passwords
One-time passwords or verification codes
Recovery codes
Private keys and API secrets
Complete session cookies or authorization headers

Redact financial and identity details

Remove full card and bank numbers, government identification, tax records, signatures, and unrelated transaction history. A support team may need a transaction reference, but rarely needs every field on a statement.

Review screenshots edge to edge

Check browser tabs, notifications, bookmarks, account menus, filenames, email addresses, and background windows. Crop to the relevant area and blur or cover private fields permanently before uploading.

Sanitize logs and configuration files

Logs can contain email addresses, internal URLs, access tokens, database connection strings, and user content. Copy only the relevant time range and replace secrets with labels such as [REDACTED].

Verify the support channel

Open support from the service’s official website or application. Do not send sensitive material to an address or messaging account supplied by an unsolicited caller.

Share in stages

Begin with the error, time, device, account identifier that is safe to disclose, and steps already tried. Provide additional material only when the request is reasonable and the channel is verified.