Managing space access and visibility

Last updated: September, 2026

Managing access and visibility settings of spaces is crucial for creating a tailored experience for your community members. This article will guide you through the various configuration options available for spaces, helping you achieve your desired setup.

Every space in your community has access settings that you can configure to control who can access it. These settings allow you to define the default privacy level for each space. 

To access the space access settings:

1. Click Community in the left sidebar, then select Spaces.

2. Hover over the space name and click More actions (three dots) and select Edit space.

3. Under the Customize tab, scroll to the Access section.

If you want to provide free and open access to a space, the "Open" setting is the ideal option. Here are some key things to know about open spaces:

• Open space and its contents are visible to members. For public communities, this means the contents will be accessible to visitors as well. Everyone can access it either from the sidebar (if visible) or the direct link to the space.

• Members in your community can voluntarily join the space at any time without needing to go through any entry point, including the paywall. Even if you manually remove them from the space, they can rejoin on their own.

• Since open spaces remain accessible to non-space members, lock screen configurations do not apply to open-access spaces.

The "Private" access setting allows you to restrict your space from voluntary joins and display a lock screen to all non-space members when they try to access it via the sidebar or URL. Here are some key things to know about private spaces:

• Community members can access the space only if they are manually added by an admin or moderator, added via an access group, or granted access through an entry point.

• This option is recommended for spaces that are part of an exclusive cohort or when members use a specific entry point, such as a paywall.

• You can display a lock screen to visitors and non-space members when they try to access private spaces within your community. This lock screen also allows you to show a custom landing page or showcase paywalls that grant access to the space, so members can purchase it directly and gain access.

• If a member is removed from a private space, they cannot regain access on their own unless they are added back by the admin or moderator of the space or member use the designated entry point again, such as purchasing a paywall that provides access to the space.

The "Secret" access setting is similar to "Private" in controlling space access, with a couple of differences:

• Secret spaces are hidden from the sidebar by default for all non-space members. Only space members can see and access the secret space.

• Community members can access a secret space only if they are manually added by an admin or moderator, added via an access group, or granted access through an entry point.

• Since secret spaces remain hidden from non-space members, lock screen configurations do not apply to secret-access spaces.

You can hide any type of space from the sidebar, allowing you to declutter it and keep only the essential ones visible.

Hiding spaces from the sidebar is useful when you have a large number of spaces in your community. It's especially helpful for organizing courses and events:

• Courses: Course spaces automatically appear in the course directory, so hiding them from the sidebar helps declutter the navigation.

• Events: Similarly, open event spaces and event spaces that a member is part of appear in the event directory. By hiding these spaces from the sidebar, members can still access them via the directory. Admins and moderators can also manage the events and create new ones directly from the directory.

When you hide a space from the sidebar, please keep the following in mind:

• The space will be completely hidden from the sidebar for everyone, including you and other community admins. This setting overrides any other visibility setting you have in place and hides it from the sidebar.

• You, your members, and visitors can still access the hidden space via its direct URL.

• Access to the space's content is determined by the space's access configuration and whether the individual is a member of the space. For instance, if you hide a private space from the sidebar in a public community, non-members or visitors who attempt to access it via a direct link will encounter a lock screen instead of the space's content.

Since hidden spaces can only be accessed via their direct URLs, it's important to save these URLs in easily accessible locations within your community so members can easily access them. Here are a few suggestions you can consider:

• Create a community post that lists all the hidden spaces with their hyperlinked URLs.

• Add the space links at the top of an introductory space.

• Include the URLs in onboarding pop-ups or onboarding emails.

• Incorporate the space links into your marketing emails.

1. Click Community in the left sidebar, then select Spaces.

2. Hover over the space name and click More actions (three dots) and select Edit space.

3. Under the Customize tab, toggle on the Hide space from sidebar.

4. Click Save changes to apply the setting.

Once enabled, this setting will apply to your community on desktop and mobile browsers along with mobile apps as well.

As an admin, you have the ability to view and manage these pages from the Spaces settings.

To do so, click Community in the left sidebar, then select Spaces.

1. To view the space, simply click its name in the list. Any space hidden from the sidebar will appear with an indication next to its name in the Access column.

2. You can also directly manage space from here. Click More options (three dots) next to the space, and select an option from the menu. You can also toggle Hide from sidebar on from the menu to quickly hide any space from the sidebar.

If your community is set to public, you can show or hide specific spaces from visitors (non-members) and logged-out members. This visibility setting is available for the following types of spaces:

• Posts

• Events

• Members

• Images

• The space visibility option is only available for open and private spaces. Secret spaces cannot be made visible to visitors.

• Enabling the Show to logged-out visitors setting will make the space and its contents visible to anyone who visits your public community, even if they are not logged in.

• This setting does not affect the space's access control. Visitors will be able to see the space and its contents but will not be able to interact or contribute unless they become community members and gain access to the space.

1. Click Community in the left sidebar, then select Spaces.

2. Hover over the space name and click More actions (three dots) and select Edit space.

3. Under the Options tab, turn on the Show to logged out visitors toggle to enable space visibility for visitors.

4. Click Save changes to apply the new visibility setting.

In addition to the access and visibility settings available for individual spaces, you can also control visibility and access for specific space groups using the space group settings.

To access these settings:

1. Click the community name or logo (or the dropdown icon next to it) in the top-left corner and select Back to community.

2. Hover over the space group in the sidebar.

3. Click More options (three dots) and select Edit space group.

Let's explore the visibility settings (toggles) within the space group:

• Automatically add members to new spaces within the group: When enabled, any members of the space group will be automatically added to new spaces created within that group. This setting applies to all new spaces, including those with private or secret access.

  • ℹ️ Note: This setting is only available to communities created before January 29, 2025. if you are using access groups, this setting will grant manual space access to members separate from the access group.

• Hide from non-space members: When enabled, community members who are not part of any space within the space group will not see the space group in the left sidebar. If your community is public, visitors will also be unable to see the hidden space group.

• Only show joined spaces in the sidebar: When enabled, community members will see only the spaces within the space group they have already joined. This setting helps declutter the sidebar by hiding spaces that members haven't joined.

• Set up a public community

• Examples of space access configuration for public communities

• Set up a private community

• Examples of space access configuration for private communities