Some Xbox Live users’ gamertags are showing their real names instead

This is a little worse than an embarrassing gamertag.

If you rely on your Xbox Live gamertag to afford you a bit of anonymity while playing online, you might be distressed to see that your real name may have been exposed.

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Several Reddit users have found that Microsoft has apparently started displaying their real names instead of their gamertags. This appears to be the case even when said users had disabled the “real name” option. This means that any of the users on your friends list could potentially see your real name, or even in your recent players’ list.

Obviously, it’s likely a blunder from Microsoft, but it raises a few red flags from users concerned that their personal information has now been shared online without their express permission.

The issue hasn’t been officially acknowledged by Microsoft just yet, but there does appear that there’s a workaround at this time. You can head to your Xbox Live profile and make sure that your name sharing option has been disabled, but that may not be a sure fix at the moment. Hopefully Microsoft offers a way to resolve this issue going forward.

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Brittany Vincent
Brittany Vincent has covered gaming, anime, tech, and entertainment for over a decade. When she’s not writing, she’s replaying Um Jammer Lammy or Day of the Tentacle for the hundredth time while pining for a Harvester sequel.