Preview your community’s paywall access

Last updated: August, 2026

With our “view as” feature, you can get a sneak peek of the access that members will receive with a paywall purchase. 

Get to know the “view as” feature for paywalls

The “View as” feature lets you view and navigate your community exactly as a new member would when they purchase a paywall membership. This helps you confirm which spaces are accessible to members via the specific paywall and how other spaces that are not part of the paywall access appear to them.

Key things to know:

  • This feature is exclusive to admins. You can also use this feature to preview the invitation link and view your community as a specific member.

  • When using this feature, you're granted view-only permission to emulate the paywall access and sidebar visibility. 

  • Options such as notifications, messages, threads, bookmarks, community settings, and member profile located in the community header remain inaccessible while you are previewing paywall access.

Preview paywall access

There are multiple ways to initiate the “view as” feature to preview paywall access:

  • Community dropdown menu: Click the community name or logo in the top-left corner and select View as. In the masquerade control bar, click the dropdown menu next to View as, select Paywalls, then choose the paywall you want to preview.

    • ℹ️ Note: If you’re using Circle AI, click the community name in the top-left corner and select Back to community first. The View as option is not available through the Circle AI workspace.

  • Paywall settings: Click the community name or logo in the top-left corner and select Paywalls. Then, hover over a paywall, click the More actions (three dots) icon, and select View as.

Once you enter the “view as” mode, you'll experience the community exactly as a new member would when they purchase a specific paywall.

In the masquerade control bar, located at the top of the community header, you'll find information about which view you’re utilizing. To switch to another paywall access preview, view your community as a member, or preview invitation link access, click the current selection in the masquerade control bar. Then choose your desired option using the search field or by selecting the category from the dropdown menu.

When you're ready to return to your account, click Exit at the right end of the masquerade control bar.

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