Associated resources:
- Backstory on this feature is in the product story: Hybrid Access feature.
- Help article to setup and manage access control: Access control.
Overview#
Channels are Public by default and can be optionally be access controlled with varying access levels - one can choose to make the channel Restricted, Protected or Private, with increasing levels of restrictions and complexity.
| Public channel | Restricted channel | Protected channel | Private channel | |
| Basic access type | Public | Network members ie signed in user | ACL - request/grant or magic link | ACL - request/grant or magic link |
| Discover channel? | Yes, public | Yes, public | Yes, public | No |
| Discover post? | Yes, public | Yes, public | Yes, public | No |
| View post content? | Yes, public | Only for Network Members | Only for members who are part of ACL | Only for members who are part of ACL |
| Find post in search | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Share post with rich link preview? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Public channels#
Channels are Public by default. Public Channels and content posted in public channels are freely accessible by anyone, without even needing to sign-in (ie become a Member).
Restricted channels#
Restricted Channels are a simple mechanism to enable casual users to become Members (just by signing up) - ie potentially an important step in the user journey.
They allow open discovery, search on the network and via search engines, SEO, sampling of the content while protecting the actual content.
- Restricted Channels are publicly listed on the Network and are searchable & shareable.
- Restricted Channels can be opened by anyone, and the channel details and feed cards can be viewed.
- Content from Restricted Channels can even be found in search, and shared and will show link previews.
Content from Restricted Channels are automatically accessible to Network Members. No intervention from Network operators is required.
Protected channels#
Protected Channels are fantastic for paid memberships, paywalls, subscriber only areas where premium content may be shared.
They allow open discovery, search on the network and via search engines, SEO, sampling of the content while protecting the actual content.
They allow the posts to be viewed only upon being allowed permission to the channel via the Access Control List - so this works similarly to posts from Private Channels.
- Protected Channels are publicly listed on the Network and are searchable & shareable.
- Protected Channels can be opened by anyone, and the channel details and feed cards can be viewed.
- Content from Protected Channels can even be found in search, and shared and will show link previews.
Access control
The Access Control List (ACL) controls which specific members are given access to the channel content. This is maintained by the Network Heroes on a per-channel basis. The ACL can be different for each Protected Channel allowing a fine-grained level of control.
Three access control mechanisms are available:
- Paywall - Network heroes can setup a paywall to control access to the channel. Access is granted automatically to the member for the configured duration, upon payment.
- Magic Link - Network heroes can generate Magic Links to automatically grant access to Protected Channels. Magic Links are a frictionless, permissionless method and allows direct access to the channel bypassing the paywall.
- Manual approval - When encountering a resource from a Protected Channel, one can request for access with a personalized note. Network Heroes can choose to accept or reject the request.
Note that Protected Channels are available on paid plans only.
Private channels#
Private Channels are meant to enable private group discussions, information sharing, etc which require a high degree of information confidentiality among a group of trusted individuals.
- Channel access control of Private can only be set when creating the channel. This cannot be changed later.
- Once a channel has been create as a Private Channel, then all its resources are private and available only to members who have been explicitly put on the Access Control List (ACL).
- A Private Channel is not publicly listed, or searchable.
- Resources from a Private Channel are not cached or stored anywhere, and thus have a high degree of information confidentiality.
- Resources cannot be freely shared with others, or posted on Social Media and/or embedded on other websites. They cannot be bookmarked.
- A post from a private channel is not shimmed or hidden on the client side, as is done with many simplistic solutions out there. The access credentials are checked on the server for every resource access, and hence there is no way to bypass them.
- A Private Channel cannot be later made Public (or vice versa), thus preventing inadvertent viewing of the resources available in that channel
- Each channel can be individually controlled and each channel's ACL can be individually controlled.
- Permission to a member can be revoked anytime, and will take effect in real time
Access control
The Access Control List (ACL) controls which specific members are given access to the channel content. This is maintained by the Network Heroes on a per-channel basis. The ACL can be different for each Private Channel allowing a fine-grained level of control.
Three access control mechanisms are available:
- Paywall - Network heroes can setup a paywall to control access to the channel. Access is granted automatically to the member for the configured duration, upon payment.
- Magic Link - Network heroes can generate Magic Links to automatically grant access to Private Channels. Magic Links are a frictionless, permissionless method and allows direct access to the channel bypassing the paywall.
- Manual approval - When encountering a resource from a Private Channel, one can request for access with a personalized note. Network Heroes can choose to accept or reject the request.
Note that Private Channels are available on paid plans only.
