The combination of role, location, project date, unusual technology and commercial detail may still make the company or a person recognisable. Decide what the story can use before the writer builds the narrative around those details.
Agree the purpose of the unnamed version
Ask which buying question the story should answer and which information the customer needs withheld. A story about introducing a new workflow may not need exact revenue, a named office or a distinctive project date.
Keep the useful sequence: the situation, the action and what the participant can describe. If removing context makes the story too vague to help the intended reader, consider a narrower internal asset or a different customer.
Review details together
This is a fictional planning table.
| Proposed detail | Proposed treatment | Decision still needed |
|---|---|---|
| Company name | Withhold | Confirm the description the customer permits |
| Exact office location | Broader region | Review alongside industry and role |
| Rare executive title | Plain description of responsibility | Confirm accuracy and identification risk |
| Project month | Broader period | Retain enough timing to understand the sequence |
| Screenshot | Use an approved illustrative example | Label the example and check the whole screen |
| Commercial amount | Omit unless needed and authorised | Decide whether the buying question requires it |
The table is a discussion tool, not a guarantee that the result is anonymous.
ICO’s introduction to anonymisation explains that identification can depend on other available information. The guidance is marked as under review. Use appropriate privacy and confidentiality review for the actual material and publication context.
Do not replace missing evidence with invented detail
If you cannot publish the real sector, do not invent another one and present it as the customer’s history. If a composite example is useful, label it as an illustrative composite rather than a customer case study.
Likewise, a fictional portrait should not appear to identify the real unnamed speaker. A restrained design with an accurate explanation can be more credible than a person-shaped substitute.
Give reviewers a complete version
Show the proposed page, title, captions, metadata and distribution plan. A cautious body can still be undermined by an identifying URL, image filename or promotional post.
Ask the relevant customer reviewer to confirm the permitted account description and factual wording. Route identification/confidentiality questions to the person responsible for that decision.
Choose the publication form
The outcome may be an approved unnamed story, an internal-only summary, a clearly illustrative example or no publication. Make that decision before committing to a public format.
For the wider responsibilities, use the customer-story approval map. This brief adds the detail-by-detail discussion needed when a name must be withheld.