Restrict who can view and edit goals
By default, anyone with access to the Goals app can view every goal on your site. Restricting a goal limits who can see and edit it to the specific people, teams, and groups you give Can view or Can edit access. Use it to keep sensitive work, like confidential strategy or department-specific initiatives, visible only to the people who need it.
Restricted goals use the same Can view and Can edit permission levels as any goal. For a full overview of the permission levels available in Goals, see Set up permissions for goals.
How restricted goals work
There are a few things to understand before you create a restricted goal.
Restricting a goal restricts everything under it
Goals live in a hierarchy. When a goal is restricted, its key results, metrics, sub-goals, and sub-goal metrics/key results are all restricted along with it. You can't restrict only part of the hierarchy.
When a goal is restricted:
A red lock appears on the goal's Share button so you can see at a glance that access is limited.
Anyone with Can view or Can edit access on the goal has the same access across the goal hierarchy: sub-goals, key results, and metrics.
Any new sub-goals or key results you add later are automatically restricted and inherit the same access.
Any change to a person's access, on any goal in the hierarchy, applies to every goal in the hierarchy. Changing someone from Can view to Can edit on a sub-goal also gives them Can edit on the parent goal and every other goal in the hierarchy. The same applies when you lower someone's access or remove them.
Anyone set as an owner must have Can edit access.
Only new goals can be restricted
You choose whether a goal is open or restricted when you create it. You can't change an existing open goal to restricted. In the Share dialog for an open goal, the Restricted option is disabled, and a tooltip explains that you can't restrict a goal after it's created.
If you need a restricted goal, create a new one and set it to restricted from the start.
Restricted goals can be made open
You can change a restricted goal to open at any time. This is a one-way change. Once the goal is open, you can't restrict it again.
When you open a restricted goal, everyone who had Can view or Can edit access keeps that access on the now-open goal.
Link goals in a restricted hierarchy
Restricted goals have limits on how they can be linked to other goals. This is a change from open goals, where linking is unrestricted.
What you can do
Create new sub-goals and key results directly on a restricted goal. They're automatically restricted and inherit the goal's access.
What you can't do
Link an existing goal into a restricted goal. Only newly created sub-goals and key results can be added to a restricted goal.
Link a restricted goal onto an open goal. If you try, you'll see an error.
Restricted goals still appear in the link picker so you can find them, but linking is only allowed within the same restricted hierarchy.
These limits exist because progress and updates roll up between linked goals. Allowing restricted goals to link out to open goals would expose restricted details to people who don't have access.
Restrict a new goal
Select Create and choose Goal.
Enter the goal details.
In the Access menu, select Restricted.
Select Create.
You may then use the Share menu to add viewers and editors.
Add people or groups to a restricted goal
Access is shared across the goal and everything under it. Adding someone gives them access to the goal, its parent and sub-goals, key results, and metrics.
Open the restricted goal.
Select Share.
Add the person, team, or group.
Choose Can view or Can edit permissions.
Select Share.
If you're sharing from a sub-goal or key result, the Share dialog reminds you that the change applies to all connected goals and links to the parent goal so you can review the full scope.
Changes to a person's access from a sub-goal apply to the whole hierarchy. Upgrading someone from Can view to Can edit on a sub-goal also gives them Can edit on the parent goal and every other goal in the hierarchy. Lowering someone's access or removing them works the same way.
Change a restricted goal to open
Opening a restricted goal is permanent. You can't restrict it again.
Open the top-level goal in the restricted hierarchy.
Select Share.
Change the setting from Restricted to Open.
In the confirmation modal, review the warning and confirm the change.
Everyone with access to the Goals app can now see the goal and everything under it, based on the app-wide default. Everyone who had Can view or Can edit access when the goal was restricted keeps those permissions on the now-open goal.
Metrics on restricted goals
Metrics behave differently on restricted goals than on open ones.
You can't reuse a restricted metric on an open goal
Metrics created on a restricted goal stay within that restricted hierarchy. When you add a metric to another goal and browse existing metrics, metrics from restricted goals don't appear in the list. This prevents sensitive data from being surfaced on an open goal.
To reuse a metric across goals, create it on an open goal from the start.
You can't unlink a metric from a restricted goal
For metrics on a restricted goal, the Unlink option isn't available. Unlinking a metric returns it to the shared pool where any goal could reuse it, which would expose the restricted goal's data.
Track changes to restricted goals
Changes to a goal's access are recorded in two places:
Activity history: the goal's activity history shows when someone restricts or opens access, and when people are added or removed.
Audit logs: admins can review access changes in the Atlassian audit log for security and compliance.
Restricted goals FAQ
Question | Answer |
|---|---|
Can I restrict just one sub-goal in a hierarchy? | No. Restriction applies to the whole hierarchy. When you restrict a goal, its sub-goals, key results, and metrics are all restricted together, and they share the same access. You can't restrict only part of a hierarchy. |
Why can't I link an existing goal into a restricted goal? | Progress and updates roll up between linked goals. Allowing an existing open goal to link in, or a restricted goal to link out to an open goal, would expose restricted details to people who don't have access. You can still create new sub-goals and key results directly on a restricted goal. |
Who can change a restricted goal's access? | People with Can edit access can add or remove people and change the goal from restricted to open. |
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