Control course visibility in GHL Customer Care Communities by restricting access to specific private channels. Learn how to set up private channel-based course access.
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Control course visibility by restricting access to members of specific private channels within your community groups.
What You'll Learn
This article explains how to set course visibility to "Private Channel" mode, allowing you to grant course access only to members of selected private channels within your GHL Customer Care community group.
You'll learn how to configure private channel access, manage course visibility settings, and leverage this capability to deliver exclusive content to specific audiences.
Private Channel Course Access is a course visibility setting that allows group admins to restrict course access to members of specific private channels within a GHL Customer Care community group. When you set a course to "Private Channel" visibility, only members who belong to the selected private channel can view and access that course content.
Members who are not part of the designated private channel will not see the course in their course list, unless they gain access to that specific private channel. This provides precise control over who can access educational content within your community.
Courses configured with private channel access display a "Private-channel based access" tag, making it easy for admins to identify which courses have restricted visibility.
2Key Benefits of Private Channel Based Course Access
Granular Access Control — Restrict course access to specific private channel members rather than the entire community group, enabling precise content distribution.
Premium Content Management — Deliver exclusive training, resources, or paid content to select member groups without affecting general community access.
Streamlined Administration — Easily identify restricted courses with the "Private-channel based access" tag and manage visibility settings from a central location.
Audience Segmentation — Create targeted learning experiences for different member tiers, roles, or subscription levels within your community.
Content Curation Precision — Deliver the right content to the right audience without cluttering course lists for members who don't have access.
3How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access
Follow these steps to configure private channel visibility for a course in your GHL Customer Care community group. Only group admins and owners have permission to modify course visibility settings.
Step 1
Access Your Community Group
Log into your GHL Customer Care account, click Memberships in the left-hand menu, navigate to Communities → Groups, and click the Login button for the group where you want to configure course access.
How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access (image 1 of 6)What this shows Community Management Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access Control course visibility by restricting access to members of…What this showsIllustrates the "How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access" section of "Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access".This screenshot appears in the "How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access" section of "Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access". For context, this section explains: Community Management Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access Control course visibility by restricting access to members of specific private channels within your community groups. What You'll Learn This article explains how to set course visibility to "Private Channel" mode, allowing you…. This part of the guide covers 4 fields, listed below.Image 1 of 6
Fields in this part of the guideHow to Setup, Customize, and Manage Your CommunitiesGetting Started - Launch a CourseImport Content from Another CourseCommunities - Private Course & Member-Specific Course Access
Once inside your group, click the Learning tab at the top of the page. This displays all courses available in your community group.
How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access (image 2 of 6)What this shows Community Management Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access Control course visibility by restricting access to members of…What this showsIllustrates the "How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access" section of "Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access".This screenshot appears in the "How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access" section of "Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access". For context, this section explains: Community Management Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access Control course visibility by restricting access to members of specific private channels within your community groups. What You'll Learn This article explains how to set course visibility to "Private Channel" mode, allowing you…. This part of the guide covers 4 fields, listed below.Image 2 of 6
Fields in this part of the guideHow to Setup, Customize, and Manage Your CommunitiesGetting Started - Launch a CourseImport Content from Another CourseCommunities - Private Course & Member-Specific Course Access
Locate the course you want to restrict, click the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner of the course card, and select Edit from the dropdown menu.
How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access (image 3 of 6)What this shows Community Management Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access Control course visibility by restricting access to members of…What this showsIllustrates the "How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access" section of "Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access".This screenshot appears in the "How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access" section of "Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access". For context, this section explains: Community Management Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access Control course visibility by restricting access to members of specific private channels within your community groups. What You'll Learn This article explains how to set course visibility to "Private Channel" mode, allowing you…. This part of the guide covers 4 fields, listed below.Image 3 of 6
Fields in this part of the guideHow to Setup, Customize, and Manage Your CommunitiesGetting Started - Launch a CourseImport Content from Another CourseCommunities - Private Course & Member-Specific Course Access
In the Edit Course modal, click the Visibility dropdown, scroll down to find the Private Channel option, and select it. This option reads "Members of a private channel" in the dropdown menu.
How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access (image 4 of 6)What this shows Community Management Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access Control course visibility by restricting access to members of…What this showsIllustrates the "How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access" section of "Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access".This screenshot appears in the "How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access" section of "Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access". For context, this section explains: Community Management Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access Control course visibility by restricting access to members of specific private channels within your community groups. What You'll Learn This article explains how to set course visibility to "Private Channel" mode, allowing you…. This part of the guide covers 4 fields, listed below.Image 4 of 6
Fields in this part of the guideHow to Setup, Customize, and Manage Your CommunitiesGetting Started - Launch a CourseImport Content from Another CourseCommunities - Private Course & Member-Specific Course Access
After selecting Private Channel visibility, a dropdown list of available private channels appears. Select the private channel you want to grant access to. Only members of the selected channel will be able to view the course.
How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access (image 5 of 6)What this shows Community Management Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access Control course visibility by restricting access to members of…What this showsIllustrates the "How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access" section of "Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access".This screenshot appears in the "How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access" section of "Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access". For context, this section explains: Community Management Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access Control course visibility by restricting access to members of specific private channels within your community groups. What You'll Learn This article explains how to set course visibility to "Private Channel" mode, allowing you…. This part of the guide covers 4 fields, listed below.Image 5 of 6
Fields in this part of the guideHow to Setup, Customize, and Manage Your CommunitiesGetting Started - Launch a CourseImport Content from Another CourseCommunities - Private Course & Member-Specific Course Access
Click Update Course to save your visibility settings. The course will now display a "Private-channel based access" tag beside its name in the Learning tab, and only members of the selected private channel will see it in their course list.
How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access (image 6 of 6)What this shows Community Management Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access Control course visibility by restricting access to members of…What this showsIllustrates the "How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access" section of "Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access".This screenshot appears in the "How to Set Up Private Channel Course Access" section of "Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access". For context, this section explains: Community Management Communities - Private Channel Based Course Access Control course visibility by restricting access to members of specific private channels within your community groups. What You'll Learn This article explains how to set course visibility to "Private Channel" mode, allowing you…. This part of the guide covers 4 fields, listed below.Image 6 of 6
Fields in this part of the guideHow to Setup, Customize, and Manage Your CommunitiesGetting Started - Launch a CourseImport Content from Another CourseCommunities - Private Course & Member-Specific Course Access
Your course is now restricted to members of the selected private channel. You can edit these settings at any time by returning to the Edit Course modal and changing the visibility option.
4Use Cases
Private channel course access enables a wide range of content distribution strategies for community managers, educators, and membership site operators.
Use Case 1
Premium Content for Paid Members
Create exclusive courses for paying members by restricting access to a private channel reserved for premium subscribers. This allows you to monetize educational content while maintaining a free tier in your community.
Use Case 2
Exclusive Training for Moderators
Deliver specialized training courses to community moderators by granting access only to members of a private moderator channel. This ensures your moderation team has the resources they need without exposing internal training to the general community.
Use Case 3
Internal or Beta Content Access
Restrict access to internal documentation, company training materials, or beta course content by limiting visibility to a private channel for team members, beta testers, or early adopters.
Use Case 4
Tiered Membership Models
Create different membership tiers by assigning courses to different private channels. For example, Bronze members access Channel A courses, Silver members access Channels A and B, and Gold members access all channels including exclusive Channel C content.
Use Case 5
Role-Based Learning Paths
Deliver targeted training based on member roles by creating private channels for specific job functions (sales, support, leadership) and restricting relevant courses to those channels.
5Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who can change course visibility settings?
Only group admins and group owners have permission to edit course visibility settings. Regular members cannot modify these settings.
Q: Can members see that a restricted course exists if they don't have access?
No. Members who are not part of the designated private channel will not see the course in their Learning tab at all. The course is completely hidden from their view.
Q: Do I need to create private channels before I can use this feature?
Yes. You must have at least one private channel created in your community group before the "Private Channel" visibility option will appear. If no private channels exist, you will not see this option in the visibility dropdown.
Q: Can I change a course from private channel access back to public access?
Yes. You can edit the course at any time and change the visibility setting from "Private Channel" to any other available options.
Q: How do I know which courses have private channel access enabled?
Courses with private channel access display a "Private channel" tag beside the course name in the Learning tab. This visual indicator helps admins quickly identify which courses have restricted visibility.
