The karaoke host posted everyone’s performances, including the ones who asked not to be recorded

A friend hosted karaoke for her birthday in a rented room above a restaurant. It was the ideal setup for people who do not sing in public: closed door, twelve friends, cheap microphones and an agreement that enthusiasm mattered more than talent.

Early in the night, she propped her phone against a pitcher and started recording. Two people asked her not to post their songs. She said, “Of course,” and moved the phone for those performances—or at least we thought she did.

The next morning, a highlight reel appeared on her public account. It included almost everyone. My off-key chorus was there, which I did not mind. One friend’s entire verse appeared even though she had explicitly opted out. Another clip showed someone in the background talking about a breakup while a song ended.

The host said the reel was harmless because the room was full of friends and nobody was tagged. She also said deleting the best moments would make the video look empty. When the friend who opted out asked again, the host removed that clip but complained in our group chat that people were making her birthday about privacy rules.

That response changed the issue for me. Accidentally including someone is one thing. Treating their removal request as damage to your content is another. The whole reason several people sang was that the room felt temporary and contained.

I want to ask her to remove the full reel because background conversations and unasked-for faces remain throughout it. Other friends think the directly affected people should handle their own clips and I should not enlarge the conflict.

Does a private karaoke room create a reasonable expectation that performances stay inside it unless everyone agrees otherwise? Would you request removal of the reel, ask for a tightly edited version with explicit consent, or leave the decision to each person shown?