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Setting Up Private Departments for Sensitive Content

Create private departments where only explicitly added members can access content. Ideal for legal, HR, executive, and compliance teams.

This guide is for admins and owners who need to restrict access to sensitive content. Private departments ensure that only explicitly added members can see, search, or ask questions about the content tagged within them.

If you have not yet created any departments, complete the Setting Up Departments and Permissions guide first.

Create private departments where only explicitly added members can access content. By the end of this guide, you will have a private department configured, members assigned, sensitive documents uploaded and tagged, and isolation verified so non-members cannot see the content.

1

Navigate to Team Management

Click Admin Hub in the navigation menu, then select Team.

2

Click "Create Department"

In the Departments section, click Create Department.

3

Name the Department

Enter a name such as Legal, HR, or Executive Team. Use names your team will immediately recognize.

4

Toggle "Private" On

This is the key step: Private means only members you explicitly add can see content tagged with this department. Non-members will not find this content in Search, Ask, Library, or the Knowledge Graph.

Set the visibility to Private before clicking Create.

5

Add Members

Only add people who need access. You can always add more later. Click on the new department, then click Add Members. Select only the team members who require access to this sensitive content.

6

Upload Sensitive Documents

Tag documents with the private department during upload. These documents will only appear in search results for department members. Navigate to Upload and select your sensitive documents, then tag them with the private department you just created.

7

Verify Isolation

Confirm that non-members cannot see, search, or ask questions about private department content. Log in as a non-member (or ask a colleague who is not in the department to check). Confirm they cannot find the private content in Search, Ask, Library, or the Knowledge Graph.

8

Manage Access Over Time

Add or remove members as roles change. Remove departed employees promptly to maintain security. Periodically review department membership and remove anyone who no longer needs access.

Pro Tip: Keep private departments small. The value of privacy decreases as more people are added. If more than 20% of your org needs access, consider whether the content really needs to be private.

Your private departments are configured and your sensitive content is secured. Next, learn advanced search techniques to get the most out of your knowledge base, including filters, voice search, and graph-enriched results.

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