Purpose: This paper examines the ethical dilemmas of a multi-dimensional contributor and end-user in the world of knowledge management by underscoring the different techniques of knowledge hiding observed in practice. Design/methodology/approach: We categorize the ethical issues into identity, ownership, privacy, and reputation. We also analyze the different knowledge hiding techniques organizations can use to provide privacy to their contributors. Findings: To help organizations better understand how to implement knowledge hiding, we present a new typology: the Heptagon Model. Originality/value: This manuscript provides a practice-oriented overview of the key knowledge hiding techniques. This overview provides the reader with an introduction to techniques used in an emerging and vital construct. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.