Arkscape

Every group has a privacy setting that controls who can discover it and who can view its content. There are three privacy types: Open, Private, and Hidden. These apply to both internal and external groups.

Privacy Types

The table below summarizes how each privacy type affects discoverability and access.

Type	Who Can Discover	Who Can View Content
Open	Everyone	Everyone can view, members can participate
Private	Everyone	Members only (others see a preview page)
Hidden	Members only	Members only

Open Groups

Open groups are fully discoverable and viewable by anyone with access to the group listing. Non-members can browse the group's content but must join to participate (post, comment, use the arkboard, etc.).

Appears in search results and the Discover page
Anyone can view the group's arkboard and discussions
Must join to create posts, comments, or cards

Private Groups

Private groups are discoverable — they appear in search results and the Discover page — but their content is restricted to members. Non-members see a preview page with basic information (name, description, member count) but cannot view the arkboard, discussions, or other content.

Appears in search results and the Discover page
Non-members see a preview page only
Must be a member to view content and participate

Hidden Groups

Hidden groups are invisible to non-members. They do not appear in search results or the Discover page. Only existing members can see and access the group.

Does not appear in search, Discover, or any group listings for non-members
Only members can see and access the group
New members must be directly invited

Note: Organization admins can always see hidden groups owned by their organization (all internal groups and org-owned external groups), even without being a member. This ensures the organization retains oversight of its own groups.

Privacy Badges

Groups display a privacy badge to indicate their visibility. Badge priority is:

Hidden — shown when a group is both private and hidden (takes priority since "Hidden" implies "Private")
Private — shown when a group is private but not hidden
Open — shown for groups with no restrictions (or no badge at all, since open is the default)

Privacy by Group Type

Privacy settings work the same way for both internal and external groups, but "everyone" means different audiences depending on the group type:

Privacy	Internal Groups	External Groups
Open	All org members can discover and view	All authenticated users can discover and view
Private	All org members can discover; members-only view	All authenticated users can discover; members-only view
Hidden	Members + org admins only	Members only (+ org admins for org-owned groups)