Why “Allow Comparison” is special
Among the privacy toggles, Allow Comparison is the only one with a server-enforced “blackout” effect — when off, friends viewing your profile completely lose access to the In Common and Unique tabs, not just visually but at the data level.
What it does
Toggle Allow Comparison off in Edit Profile, and:
- The In Common tab on your friend’s view of your profile shows: “Comparison unavailable — this user’s collection is private.”
- The Unique tab shows the same.
- The summary card “Series in Common” on your profile’s Overview tab disappears.
- Even if a friend’s app version were modified to bypass the toggle, our backend wouldn’t return comparison data — there’s nothing to display.
Why it works this way
Other privacy toggles (like Show Bio or Show Achievements) hide a single field. Allow Comparison hides an entire interaction — the comparison feature itself becomes unavailable.
We chose this design because comparison is a multi-step inference: from your collection list, friends could deduce specific patterns (you’re behind on a series they’re caught up on, you have a rare edition they don’t, etc.). To respect privacy fully, we blackout the data at the source.
Effect on you (the toggle owner)
- You can still compare with friends — your toggle controls only what they see of your collection.
- You can still see their In Common and Unique with you (subject to their own toggle).
- You retain full access to your own collection, stats, and value.
Effect on friends viewing your profile
- “Comparison unavailable” message in the In Common and Unique tabs.
- The Series in Common count card on the Overview tab disappears.
- They still see your other profile elements (subject to your other toggles): name, avatar, bio, stats, activity, etc.
Combined with other toggles
If you also have Show Collection off, friends additionally can’t see your full collection list (even outside the comparison feature). That’s a stricter privacy posture — you’d be visible to friends but they couldn’t browse what you own.
Why anyone would want this on
Most users keep Allow Comparison on (the default) because comparison is a fun feature for finding shared interests and gift coordination. But there are valid reasons to turn it off:
- You’d rather not have friends know what specific volumes you do or don’t have.
- You’re a content creator who only wants to selectively share collection insights.
- You’re cataloging volumes that are gifts (and don’t want the recipient to see).
Re-enabling
Toggle Allow Comparison back on in Edit Profile. Comparison is restored immediately for friends viewing your profile.
Tip
If you mostly want privacy with friends but selectively want to compare with one specific person, the workaround is: keep Allow Comparison off as your default, and turn it on briefly when you want to compare with someone, then back off. Not elegant, but it works.
A future improvement may include per-friend privacy settings — let us know if that’d be useful.