> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.chief.bot/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Visibility & access controls (private / restricted / project)

> Every chat in Chief has a visibility level that controls who can see it.

Every chat in Chief has a [visibility level](/help/sharing-visibility/chat-visibility-private-project-restricted) that controls who can see it. You set it per chat, and you can change it anytime.

## The three visibility levels

* **Private** — Only you can see this chat.
* **Restricted** — Only you and the specific people you choose can see this chat.
* **Project** — Anyone with access to [this project](/help/projects-sharing-teams/what-is-a-project) can see this chat.

## Change a chat’s visibility

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/chief-2d405d1a/6c2N7JENQEFQ6YbH/images/help/share-visibility.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=6c2N7JENQEFQ6YbH&q=85&s=8452bc89023293b40b5f8f8b35ba92d1" alt="Chief security - changing a chat visibility private project or restricted" width="1000" height="891" data-path="images/help/share-visibility.png" />
</Frame>

1. Open the chat.
2. Click the visibility badge (it reads **Private**, **Restricted**, or **Project**) — or open the chat menu and click **Change visibility**.
3. In the **Chat visibility** dialog, select the level you want — **Only you** (Private), **Specific people** (Restricted), or **Everyone in the project** (Project).
4. If you chose **Restricted**, under **Share with specific people** click each [project member](/help/projects-sharing-teams/removing-members-managing-access) you want to include.
5. Click **Save**.

<Warning>
  ⚠️ **Important:** If the member list fails to load when you open the dialog, **Save** stays disabled. This prevents accidentally saving a Restricted chat with an empty audience. Click **Retry**, and only save once the list loads.
</Warning>

## Chats in Google-connected projects start Private

When a project has [the Google integration](/help/integrations/integrations-overview), new chats start **Private**. This keeps mailbox and calendar content from being shared with the whole project unless you deliberately change the chat’s visibility.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="If I lose access to a chat, what happened?">
    The chat may have been deleted, made Private, or [you were removed](/help/sharing-visibility/revoking-access-to-a-shared-chat) from who can see it. Your access to the rest of the project is unchanged.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why can’t I save my visibility change?">
    Save is disabled while the project member list is still loading or failed to load, and while a save is in progress. If you saw a “Could not load visibility settings” error, click Retry first.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Restricted include project admins automatically?">
    Restricted shares with you plus the specific people you select from the project. Project admins can still see a Restricted chat even if you didn't include them in your selection.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>