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Who can see what

The simple version: you see a space's contents once you're in it, and not before.

  • Spaces are private by default. Posts, chat, members, and activity are for members — no one else. A private space you don't belong to doesn't even acknowledge it exists: it reads as not found.
  • You only ever see what you already have access to. Search and feeds never surface anything from a space you're not in.
  • Groups tighten this further. A closed group inside a space is readable only by its own members and the space's admins — other members of the space stay outside.

What a space can show the world​

Everything public is opt-in, and it's layered:

  • A public profile. A space can turn on a public page — its name, description, look, and how to join — at its own web address. Public spaces can also appear in the Discover browser inside the app. What's inside stays members-only.
  • Public posts. A space can make individual posts publicly readable, each with its own shareable page. Making a post public is an explicit, per-post choice. Public post pages are read-only — comments and members stay inside — and a public post can share just its opening: with a fold, visitors see the part above it and an invitation to join for the rest. A post that isn't public shows visitors a join prompt instead of the content.
  • Public channels. Instead of publishing posts one at a time, a space can make a whole channel public — every post in it becomes readable from the space's public page at once, each following the same fold rule as an individual public post. Comments and members still stay inside.
  • Secret links. For a post you haven't made public, a space can hand out a private link that lets whoever holds it read the post's opening — without making the post public and without granting them membership. The link can be rotated or switched off at any time, so sharing stays under the space's control.

Your profile​

Your basics — name, handle, avatar, bio, and any links you've added — can be seen by anyone signed in to DFOS, even with no space in common. That's how people recognize you when you turn up somewhere.

The fuller picture — your activity in a space, when you joined, what you share in common — is only visible to people you share that space with.

Your profile is public by default. Your name, handle, avatar, bio, and links are part of the wider DFOS network — findable by anyone, in or out of a space with you. If you'd rather stay out of it, one setting makes your profile private and drops you from the directory. Your email and space memberships are never part of your public profile either way.

Media works a little differently — it has its own public and private split. See Media.