How to Hide Your Fics on Archive of Our Own (AO3) Without Deletion

Managing your fics on Archive of Our Own (AO3) can be an exciting process, but sometimes you might want to hide your works without deleting them. This article will guide you through the steps to achieve this, preserving the visibility for only you, while keeping your fics intact.

Hiding Your Fics Publicly on AO3

With just a few simple steps, you can hide your fics on AO3 while keeping them available for you. Here's how:

Log In: Start by logging into your AO3 account. Go to Your Works Page: Once logged in, navigate to your 'Works' page. Select the Story: Find the story you want to hide in the list of your works. Edit the Work: Click on the title of the work you want to modify. Change Visibility Settings: In the 'Edit' page, you will see options to change the visibility settings. Look for the 'Display settings' and select 'Hidden'. Save Your Changes: Once your settings are adjusted, click 'Save' to apply the changes.

Once you have hidden your fic, it will remain inaccessible to other users but you can find and view it by selecting 'Hidden' in the 'Works' page. If you decide to make it public again, you can change the visibility settings back to 'Public'.

Preserving Your Fic's Stats and Comments

It's not just the visibility of fics that you might want to manage. Sometimes, you might want to preserve the stats and comments associated with your fics. Here's how you can achieve this:

Create a Private Collection: First, create a private collection on AO3. This collection should be set to only be accessible by you. Ensure the collection has a memorable name. Add Your Fic to the Collection: Go to the fic you want to hide and click the 'Edit' button. Add the fic to your private collection. Verify Visibility: Once added, the fic will be hidden from public view. It remains in the collection where you can manage it.

Note: Unfortunately, there is no way to hide individual chapters within an AO3 story. If you have a multi-chapter fic, and you want to keep only a specific chapter, you will need to delete the other chapters.

Orphaning Your Fics

If you want to remove your fics from your personal handle, you can orphan them. By doing this, the fics will still be on AO3 but will be connected to an 'orphan_account' and won't be traceable to you.

However, if your goal is to completely hide a fic from all viewers, you can set it to be only visible to registered users. This can be done in the 'Privacy' section of 'Edit' settings for a work. Keep in mind, without deleting the work, this is the closest you can get to hiding it from all users.

Conclusion

Managing your fics on AO3 involves several considerations. Whether you want to hide them, preserve their stats, or orphan them, this guide should help you navigate through the process. By following these steps, you can maintain control over your work while keeping it accessible for you.