Visibility and access
Who sees each section and each space (public, members, subscribers or private), how the access list by group, product and plan works, how section and space combine and what people without access see.
Every section and every space answers one question: who sees this? The answer is the visibility and, when it's Private, the Who gets in list. That's how you separate what's a showcase from what's only for paying members, only for one cohort or only for the leadership.
The four visibilities
| Visibility | Who sees it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Public | Anyone, including people who aren't signed in | The open blog, the "Start here" page |
| Members | Members of this community | The general Feed, the calendar |
| Subscribers | Anyone with any active subscription | Exclusive content for paying members, any plan |
| Private | Only the people you list | The Growth plan course, the cohort's room, the leadership |
The order, from most open to most closed, is Public › Members › Subscribers › Private. A new space starts as Members.
The staff sees everything. Owners, admins and moderators see every section and every space, whatever the visibility: they need that in order to moderate. The Finance role isn't part of this rule: for finance, the same applies as for a member. See Roles and permissions.
Private: the "Who gets in" list
With Private, the Who gets in block appears, with three lists:
| List | Unlocks for | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Groups | The people in a member group | A cohort, a team, a department, the leadership |
| Products | Whoever bought the product | A course or a ticket sold on its own |
| Plans | Whoever subscribes to that plan | Content for a subscription tier (Growth, Gold…) |
The list's rules:
- Meeting any one is enough. A space unlocked for the Mentors group and the Gold plan is seen by anyone in the group or subscribed to the plan.
- Empty list = staff only. That's how you "hide" a space without deleting it.
- A plan counts while the subscription is active. Someone who cancels keeps seeing it until the end of the paid period; after that, they lose access automatically.
- A product counts for whoever bought it. A one-time purchase unlocks the space.
Subscribers and Private with a plan look the same, but they aren't: Subscribers accepts any plan; Private accepts only the plans you list.
Section and space together
The rules multiply between the section and the space: to see a space, a person needs to get through the section and the space.
- Anyone who can't get through the section sees nothing inside it.
- A space can't be more open than its section. The screen warns you: "This space cannot be more open than the section…", and the more open options appear unavailable.
- For a private space inside a private section, the person needs to be on both lists.
- Tightening a section's visibility also tightens the spaces that were more open; the screen tells you how many.
Example: a Student area section (Private, Full Course plan), with a Mentoring space (Private, March cohort group). To get into Mentoring, the person needs to subscribe to the plan and be in the group.
What people without access see
| Situation | In the menu | When trying to open it |
|---|---|---|
| Private, with a plan on the list | The space with a lock: Requires a plan | Access denied |
| Private, with a product on the list | The space with a lock: Requires a purchase | Access denied |
| Private, with only groups, or an empty list | Doesn't appear | Not found |
| Subscribers, for someone with no subscription | Doesn't appear | Not found |
| Members, for a visitor | Doesn't appear | Needs to sign in |
The lock is there to sell: whoever sees the locked space knows what they get by subscribing. Groups don't show a lock because you can't buy a place in a group.
Access follows payment
When a space is Subscribers or unlocked for a plan, nobody has to grant or remove access by hand:
- Paid: gets in as soon as the payment is confirmed.
- Canceled: stays until the end of the period already paid, and then leaves.
- Late on renewal: the subscription becomes past due.
Someone on a free trial doesn't count as a subscriber yet for subscribers' spaces or for plans on the access list. If the trial should unlock the space, let the Memberfy team know.
Examples
| I want… | Do this |
|---|---|
| An open showcase that invites people in | A Public section with Content |
| A space for anyone who pays for something | A Subscribers space |
| A space only for the Growth plan | A Private space, Growth plan under Plans |
| The material for a course sold on its own | A Private space, the course product under Products |
| A cohort's room | A Private space, the cohort's group under Groups |
| A space only the staff sees, for now | A Private space with an empty list |
| A whole subscribers' area | A Subscribers section: every space inside it inherits that |
Step by step: unlock a space for a plan
Role: owner or admin.
- Create the plan first, in Monetization › Plans. The space only lists what already exists. See Plans.
- In the menu, open Space options › Edit space.
- Under Visibility, choose Private.
- Under Who gets in, click Add a plan and choose the plan.
- Save. Non-subscribers now see the space with the Requires a plan lock.
The same goes for Add a product and Add a group.
Common errors and how to fix them
| What happens | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The Public option is unavailable on the space | The section is more closed | Open up the section, or leave the space as it is |
| The access grant "…" does not exist in this community. | The plan, product or group on the list was deleted | Remove it from the list and save |
| A subscriber says they can't see the space | Their plan isn't on the list, or the subscription isn't active | Check the list and the subscription status in Monetization |
| The space disappeared for every member | It became Private with an empty list | Add whoever should see it |
Frequently asked questions
Why does the staff see a space I made private? Because owners, admins and moderators always see everything.
Can I unlock a space for just one person? Create a group with that person and unlock the space for the group.
Does changing the visibility delete anything? No. It only changes who sees it.
Does a post from a private space show up in the general Feed? Only for those who have access to the space it came from.
In the API
visibility: public, members, plan or private; and access: { groupIds, productIds, subscriptionGroupIds } on POST/PUT for sections and spaces. See Sections & Spaces.