Location in desktop browser: Left menu > Admin > Preferences > Settings > Privacy panel on the Settings page

Location on mobile device: Bottom of page > More > Admin > Preferences > Settings > Privacy panel on the Settings page

! Important: Setting changes take effect after you click or tap the Update Group button at the bottom of the page.

Visibility

This setting controls whether the group is listed in the public directory of groups on Groups.io and whether its message archive is viewable by anyone who has the group's URL or only by group members.

Note: All of the possible Visibility options for main groups are described here. (Click or tap an option below to see its description.) However, after a group is created, the Visibility list contains only the options that are available based on the initial visibility selection made by the group’s creator (see About group visibility settings). Also, subgroups have different visibility settings (see Subgroup visibility settings).

• Group listed in directory, publicly viewable messages

  The group will be listed in the public directory of groups on Groups.io, and its message archive will be viewable by anyone—not just group members—who has the URL of the group.

  In addition:

  • The contents of group messages will be discoverable by web search engines.
  • An RSS feed link will be created automatically and listed in the Group Information section on the group’s home page. 

  Example: GroupManagersForum (GMF)

• Group not listed in directory, publicly viewable messages

  The group will not be listed in the public directory of groups on Groups.io, but its message archive will be viewable by anyone—not just group members—who has the URL of the group.

  In addition:

  • The contents of group messages will be discoverable by web search engines.
  • An RSS feed link will be created automatically and listed in the Group Information section on the group’s home page.

• Group listed in directory, private messages

  The group will be listed in the public directory of groups on Groups.io, but its message archive will be viewable only to group members. Also, message content will not be discoverable by web search engines.

  Use case example: You want prospective members to be able to find the group, but they must meet some criteria before they can join the group and view the message archive.

  ! Important: The “private messages” setting is not reversible. You can change whether the group is listed in the public directory of groups, but you cannot change private messages to be publicly viewable later.

• Group not listed in directory, private messages

  The group will not be listed in the public directory of groups on Groups.io, and its message archive will be viewable only to group members. Also, message content will not be discoverable by web search engines.

  Use case example: You want an invitation-only group that is not open to the general public, such as for a specific organization or user community.

  ! Important: The “private messages” setting is not reversible. You can change whether the group is listed in the public directory of groups, but you cannot change private messages to be publicly viewable later.

Member List Visibility

This setting controls who can view the group's member list. In the dropdown list, select the option you want to apply:

• Members

  All members of the group can view the member list.

  ! Important: Before you can select this setting, you must scroll down to and expand the Group Type and Moderation panel on the page and select the Restricted Membership checkbox. Only groups that have restricted membership can allow their members to see the member list. This restriction is a security precaution intended to prevent unscrupulous people from joining groups just to harvest members’ email addresses.

  Note: If you associate colors with members’ subscriptions (see Color) the colors are not displayed to group members who view the member list. Only group owners, and group moderators with the appropriate permission settings, will see those colors in the member list.

• All owners, and moderators with the correct permissions

  Only the group’s owners, as well as group moderators who have the appropriate permission settings, can view the member list. (This option is the default setting for new groups.)

• Owners Only

  Only the group’s owners can view the member list.

Email Address Visibility in Archive

This setting controls whether members’ full email addresses are visible or hidden (masked) in the message archive on the group’s website. Select the option you want to apply:

• Mask email addresses in the web archive
• Show email addresses in the web archive

Note: When an archive is publicly viewable, email addresses are always hidden from nonmembers who view the archive.