# Private Topic FAQ ## **What are Private Topics?** Private Topics are discussion spaces only visible to specific community groups. If you're not a member of the group or if your access has been explicitly revoked, the topic (and its contents) will be completely hidden. *** ## **Who can access a Private Topic?** * **Approved Members:** Only members who are added to the group gating the private topic can access it. * **Admins/Mods:** Automatically have access by default. * **Rejected or Non-Members:** Cannot view, search, or interact with threads in the topic. *** ## **What can approved members do in a Private Topic?** **Participate** * View threads * Create new threads * Create new comments * Upvote threads and comments **Search & View** * Search for private content * See private topic threads & comments on their own profile * Be mentioned in private threads * See private topic threads & comments in other members’ profiles * See private topic threads in general forum views *** ## **What happens if a non-member tries to interact with a Private Topic?** They’ll: * See topics grayed out in the topic selector * Be blocked from creating or viewing threads * Not see private content in search results or profiles * Receive error messages with clear feedback when attempting to view private topic Non-members also will not be able to see private topic content in global, general forum views, and in the profiles of private topic members. *** ## **Will private content appear in search or profiles?** Only **if you're a member** of the group gating that topic. * Private threads show up in search and profiles *only* for approved members. * Non-members won’t see any trace of private discussions. *** ## **What happens to existing threads if a topic becomes private later?** Threads posted **before** the topic was made private will: * Remain visible in the member’s profile * Non-members will not be able to view or interact with the full thread *** ## **How can I wwitch a topic from private to public?** As a community admin, click edit on the group that is gating the private topic and then remove the topic from the **gated topic section**. Considerations: * Even though a success message will appear after saving, a private topic cannot be made public again via the topics page * Once a private topic becomes public, all of the existing content will become publicly viewable as well *** ## **Pro Tip for Admins** Private topics are managed through the **Topics Page**. When making a topic private: * You'll be prompted to select a group to gate the topic with * You cannot assign a topic to multiple groups --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.common.xyz/commonwealth/community-overview/capabilities/topics/private-topic-faq.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.