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# Channel privacy settings
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# Private, public, and web-public channels
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{!channels-intro.md!}
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Zulip supports a few types of channels:
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There are three types of channels in Zulip:
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* **Public** (<i class="zulip-icon zulip-icon-hashtag"></i>):
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Members can join and view the complete message history.
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Public channels are visible to [guest users](/help/guest-users)
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only if they are subscribed (exactly like private channels with
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shared history).
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* [Private channels](#private-channels) (indicated by <i class="zulip-icon
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zulip-icon-lock"></i>), where only subscribers can access messages and
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subscribe other users. You can choose whether new subscribers can see messages
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sent before they were subscribed.
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* **Private** (<i class="zulip-icon zulip-icon-lock"></i>):
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New subscribers must be added by an existing subscriber. Only subscribers
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and organization administrators can see the channel's name and description,
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and only subscribers can view topics and messages with the channel:
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* In **private channels with shared history**, new subscribers can
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access the channel's full message history.
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* In **private channels with protected history**, new subscribers
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can only see messages sent after they join.
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* [Public channels](#public-channels) (indicated by <i class="zulip-icon
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zulip-icon-hashtag"></i>), which are open to everyone in your organization
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other than guests.
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* [**Web-public**](/help/public-access-option) (<i class="zulip-icon
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zulip-icon-globe"></i>): Members can join (guests must be invited by a
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subscriber). Anyone on the Internet can view complete message history without
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* [Web-public channels](#web-public-channels) (indicated by <i class="zulip-icon
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zulip-icon-globe"></i>), where anyone on the Internet can see messages without
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creating an account.
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## Privacy model for private channels
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In addition, you can configure the following permissions for each channel,
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regardless of its type:
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At a high level:
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* [Who can send messages](/help/channel-posting-policy)
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* [Who can administer the channel](/help/configure-who-can-administer-a-channel)
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* [Who can unsubscribe other users](/help/configure-who-can-unsubscribe-others)
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* Organization owners and administrators can see and modify most
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aspects of a private channel, including the membership and estimated
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traffic. Owners and administrators generally cannot see private
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channel messages or do things that would give them access to private
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channel messages, like adding new subscribers or changing the channel
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privacy settings.
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For the organization as a whole, you can:
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* [Organization members and moderators](/help/user-roles)
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cannot easily see which private channels exist, or interact with them
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in any way until they are added. Given a channel name, they can
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figure out whether a channel with that name exists, but cannot see
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any other details about the channel.
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* [Restrict channel creation](/help/configure-who-can-create-channels)
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* [Restrict who can add users to channels](/help/configure-who-can-invite-to-channels)
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* From the perspective of a guest, all channels are private channels,
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and they additionally can't add other members to the channels they
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are subscribed to.
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Any permission, including whether a channel is private, public, or web-public,
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can be modified after the channel is created.
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There are two situations in which an organization owner or
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administrator can access private channel messages:
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## Private channels
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* Via some types of [data export](/help/export-your-organization).
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[Private channels](#private-channels) (indicated by <i class="zulip-icon
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zulip-icon-lock"></i>) are for conversations that should be accessible only to
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users who are specifically added to the channel. There are two types of private
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channels in Zulip:
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* Owners and administrators can change the ownership of a bot. If a
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bot is subscribed to a private channel, then an administrator can get
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access to that channel by taking control of the bot, though the
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access will be limited to what the bot can do. (e.g., incoming
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webhook bots cannot read messages.)
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- In private channels with **shared history**, new subscribers can access the
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channel's full message history. For example, a newly added team member can get
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ramped up on a secret project by seeing prior discussions.
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- In private channels with **protected history**, new subscribers can only see
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messages sent after they join. For example, a new manager would not be able to
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see past discussions regarding their own hiring process or performance management.
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## Detailed permissions
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Organization administrators can see information about all private channels and
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manage some configurations. However, they cannot access messages in private
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channels that they are not subscribed to, or subscribe themselves to private
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channels.
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### Public channels
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Organization administrators and [channel
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administrators](/help/configure-who-can-administer-a-channel) can always:
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<div class="centered_table"></div>
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| | Owners and admins | Moderators | Members | Guests
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|--- |--- |--- |--- |---
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| View channel name | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ◾
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| Join | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
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| Unsubscribe | ◾ | ◾ | ◾ | ◾
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| Add others | ✔ | ✶ | ✶ |
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| Remove others | ✔ | ✶ | ✶ | ✶
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| See subscriber list | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ◾
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| See full history | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ◾
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| See estimated traffic | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ◾
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| Post | ✔ | ✶ | ✶ | ✶
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| Change the privacy | ✔ | | |
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| Rename | ✔ | | |
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| Edit the description | ✔ | | |
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| Delete | ✔ | | |
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- See and modify the channel's [name](/help/rename-a-channel) and [description](/help/change-the-channel-description).
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- See who is subscribed to the channel, and [unsubscribe](/help/add-or-remove-users-from-a-channel#remove-users-from-a-channel) them.
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- See the channel's permissions settings.
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- See how much message traffic the channel gets (but not its contents).
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- [Archive](/help/archive-a-channel) the channel.
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<span class="legend_symbol">✔</span><span class="legend_label">Always</span>
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However, only users who have the relevant permissions *and are subscribed to the
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channel* can:
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<span class="legend_symbol">◾</span><span class="legend_label">If subscribed to the channel</span>
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- See messages or topics.
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- Subscribe other users.
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- Modify the channel's permissions settings, including settings that control who
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can see messages in the channel (public vs. private, shared history vs.
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protected history).
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<span class="legend_symbol">✶</span>
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<span class="legend_label">
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Configurable. See [Channel posting policy](/help/channel-posting-policy),
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[Configure who can add users][add-users], and
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[Configure who can remove users][remove-users]
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for details.
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</span>
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Administrators can [export](/help/export-your-organization) messages in private
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channels only if [granted permission to do
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so](/help/export-your-organization#configure-whether-administrators-can-export-your-private-data)
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by a subscriber.
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### Private channels
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Users who do not have special permissions (they are not organization
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administrators, and have not been granted access to the channel) cannot easily
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see which private channels exist. They can find out that a channel exists only
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by attempting to create a channel with the same name, if they have [permission
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to create channels](/help/configure-who-can-create-channels). They can't get any
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other information about private channels they are not subscribed to.
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<div class="centered_table"></div>
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| | Owners and admins | Moderators | Members | Guests
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|--- |--- |--- |--- |---
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| View channel name | ✔ | ◾ | ◾ | ◾
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| Join | | | |
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| Unsubscribe | ◾ | ◾ | ◾ | ◾
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| Add others | ◾ | ✶ | ✶ |
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| Remove others | ✔ | ✶ | ✶ | ✶
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| See subscriber list | ✔ | ◾ | ◾ | ◾
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| See full history | ✶ | ✶ | ✶ | ✶
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| See estimated traffic | ✔ | ◾ | ◾ | ◾
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| Post | ◾ | ✶ | ✶ | ✶
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| Change the privacy | ◾ | | |
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| Rename | ✔ | | |
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| Edit the description | ✔ | | |
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| Delete | ✔ | | |
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!!! warn ""
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<span class="legend_symbol">✔</span><span class="legend_label">Always</span>
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If you create a [bot](/help/bots-overview) that is allowed to read messages
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in a private channel (e.g., a **generic bot**, *not* an **incoming webhook bot**,
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which is more limited), an administrator can in theory gain access to messages
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in the channel by making themselves the bot's owner.
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<span class="legend_symbol">◾</span><span class="legend_label">If subscribed to the channel</span>
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## Public channels
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<span class="legend_symbol">✶</span>
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<span class="legend_label">
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Configurable, but at minimum must be subscribed to the channel.
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See [Channel posting policy](/help/channel-posting-policy),
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[Configure who can add users][add-users], and
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[Configure who can remove users][remove-users]
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for details.
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</span>
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Public channels (indicated by <i class="zulip-icon
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zulip-icon-hashtag"></i>) are open to all members of your organization other than
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[guests](/help/guest-users). Anyone who is not a guest can:
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- See information about the channel, including its name, description, permission
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settings, and subscribers.
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- Subscribe or unsubscribe themselves to the channel.
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- See all messages and topics, whether or not they are subscribed.
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You can configure other permissions for public channels, such as [who is allowed
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to post](/help/channel-posting-policy).
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Guest users can't see public (or private) channels, unless they have been specifically added to the channel.
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## Web-public channels
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{!web-public-channels-intro.md!}
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Web-public channels are indicated with a **globe** (<i class="zulip-icon
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zulip-icon-globe"></i>) icon.
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## Related articles
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* [User roles](/help/user-roles)
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* [Channel sending policy](/help/channel-posting-policy)
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* [Web-public channels](/help/public-access-option)
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[add-users]: /help/configure-who-can-invite-to-channels#configure-who-can-add-users
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[remove-users]: /help/configure-who-can-invite-to-channels#configure-who-can-remove-users
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* [Guest users](/help/guest-users)
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* [User groups](/help/user-groups)
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* [Public access option](/help/public-access-option)
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* [Channel posting policy](/help/channel-posting-policy)
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* [Restrict channel creation](/help/configure-who-can-create-channels)
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* [Configure who can administer a channel](/help/configure-who-can-administer-a-channel)
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* [Restrict who can subscribe others](/help/configure-who-can-invite-to-channels)
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* [Configure who can unsubscribe others](/help/configure-who-can-unsubscribe-others)
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Alya Abbott
Tim Abbott