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Manage permissions at the content level

What are content-level permissions?

Confluence lets you customize permissions at the site, space, and page level so that they're just right for you.

You can’t restrict access to content on the Free plan.

Here's a quick rundown of permissions at different levels within Confluence:

  • Global-level permissions
    Confluence admins control this. At the global level, admins can control global permissions, such as who can create spaces in Confluence, and default space permissions, where admins can configure the default permissions settings for new spaces created.

  • Space-level permissions
    Space admins control this. At the space level, admins decide what each user or group can do in that space.

  • Content-level permissions
    Anyone who has permission to edit the content and to overall edit content in the space can change access to content items.

Tip: If there are no content restrictions on a content item but someone still can't view or edit it, it's likely because they don't have the necessary space permissions. See Troubleshoot access problems to content to learn more.

Some other things to keep in mind

  • Open by default
    Confluence is open by default, which means it starts from a place of ‘everyone can access everything’ but lets you restrict where you need to.

  • Confluence groups
    Instead of applying restrictions to individuals, use Confluence groups to save on typing out individual names.

  • Additive permissions 
    Confluence permissions are additive. This means that if someone is in two Confluence groups, and one group has permission to view a content item while the other does not, that person will still be able to view the content item because at least one of the groups they're in has permission to view it.

  • A restrictive model
    Confluence's permissions model is set up so that content can only be further restricted from whatever the container is set at. A content item cannot have greater access than its container, which may be the space or another content item.

  • Anonymous access
    You can make certain spaces (or even your whole site) available to the public, which means that anyone on the internet would be able to access your content.

  • Mentioning users
    If a user doesn't have access to the content, they won't receive a notification when @ mentioned.

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