Managing Group Privacy in Communities

Understanding Public and Private Groups

Within your CRM's Communities feature, you can create groups with different visibility settings. A public group is open for any community member to see and join. A private group is a restricted space where content and discussions are only visible to approved members. This is ideal for confidential team projects, exclusive member areas, or any conversation that requires controlled access.

Key Roles and Permissions

Private groups are managed through a clear role structure:

• Owner: The group creator. This role can convert the group between public and private, assign other users as Admins or Contributors, and review/approve membership requests. The Owner role cannot be assigned to another user.
• Admin: Can perform all the same tasks as the Owner, including changing group privacy, managing membership requests, and adjusting the roles of other Admins and Contributors.
• Contributor: A standard member who can participate in discussions but has no authority over group settings, membership, or privacy.

How to Change a Group's Privacy Setting

Only group Owners and Admins can change a group from public to private, or vice versa.

To Make a Group Private

1. Navigate to the specific group you wish to manage.
2. Click on the group's Settings.
3. Within the settings, find and select the option for Details.
4. Look for the privacy control and select Switch to Private.
5. Save your changes.

Important Note: When you convert a public group to a private one, all content previously posted in the group will remain visible only to the members who were in the group at the time of the change. New members who join afterward will not see the historical content from when the group was public.

To Make a Private Group Public

Follow the same path to the group's Settings > Details. You will find an option to switch the group to public. When you make a private group public, all pending membership requests are automatically approved.

Managing Membership for Private Groups

Once a group is set to private, community members cannot join automatically. They must request access.

• Interested members find the private group and submit a request to join.
• Group Owners and Admins will see these requests in the group's management area.
• Owners and Admins can review and approve or deny each request.
• Once approved, the new member receives a confirmation email with a direct link to access the group.