Private Communities - HL Vanilla Community
<main> <article class="userContent"> <p>By default, users who don't have an account or who aren't logged in to your <strong>Higher Logic Vanilla (Vanilla)</strong> community can still view content (but not participate).</p><p>If your organization would like to implement additional security to prevent these users from browsing your Vanilla community entirely, the <strong>Private Communities </strong>feature is exactly what you're looking for.</p><h2 data-id="private-communities-comparison%3A-on-vs.-off">Private Communities comparison: ON vs. OFF</h2><ul><li>Private Communities <strong>OFF</strong> - Users who don't have an account or who aren't logged in can browse your Vanilla community but can only view content.</li><li>Private Communities <strong>ON</strong> - Users who don't have an account or who aren't logged in can't even view content; instead, they are redirected to the login page (where they can also register if they don't have an account). Essentially, <strong>Private Communities </strong>mode makes your Vanilla community a "members only" space.</li></ul><h2 data-id="enable-private-communities">Enable Private Communities</h2><ol><li>Access the Dashboard.</li><li>Navigate to <strong>Settings > Membership > Roles & Permissions</strong>.</li><li>Click the <strong>Advanced Settings</strong> button.</li><li>In the resulting dialog, enable the <strong>Enable Private Communities</strong> option.</li><li>Click <strong>Save </strong>to apply the update.</li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/7LJ37Q7ZWPR6/enable-prvt-comms.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/7LJ37Q7ZWPR6/enable-prvt-comms.png" alt="enable_prvt_comms.png" height="370" width="1108" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="registration-considerations">Registration considerations </h2><p>Registration methods in a private community work the same as a "public" community. Organizations with private communities should consider the following:</p><ul><li>If your registration method is set to <strong>Basic</strong>, the intended privacy is compromised due to the open registration policy. With Basic registration, users fill out a simple form and are granted access immediately, with no admin approval required. This ease of obtaining an account defeats the purpose of a private community.</li><li>The best practice for private communities is to use a less permissive registration method, like <strong>Approval </strong>or <strong>Invitation</strong>. This ensures a greater degree of control over <em>who </em>is able to register, and therefore upholds the integrity of your private community.</li></ul><p>To learn more about our four registration methods, check out the article below.</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"Sign In\/Registration Workflow Vanilla has 4 different registration methods you can choose from- Basic, Approval, Invitation and Connect. You can however add Social Connect registration as an option when you have a basic registration. Basic This is the classic registration method. New users fill out a simple form and are…","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/VWGAXAF5OFCO\/microsoftteams-image.png","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/303-registration-methods","embedType":"link","name":"Registration Methods - Vanilla Success"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/303-registration-methods" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/303-registration-methods </a> </div><h2 data-id="privacy">Privacy</h2><p>The Private Communities feature was created to offer an increased level of privacy for organizations and users alike. However, it is not an "air tight" solution: Depending on other site configuration settings, it may be possible for some information to leak. For example, user information is particularly vulnerable to discovery during open registration, due to necessary availability checks for usernames and email addresses.</p> </article> </main>