Who are external contributors?
An external contributor can join a secret or private group when invited into the group by a group member. External contributors can view and participate only in that group. They cannot see any other community content or activity, and they can only join a maximum of 20 groups.
You can securely invite someone from outside your community to participate in an externally accessible group. The standard community user can only see external contributors when they belong to the same group.
| Private: Unlisted group (Secret) | Private group | Public: Restricted group | Public group | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can group members invite external contributors? | v* | v* | ⊘ | ⊘ |
| What is visible to an external contributor who is not a group member? | None | None | None | None |
| Can external contributors see content? | Only a group member | Only a group member | ⊘ | ⊘ |
| Can external contributors participate? | Only a group member | Only a group member | ⊘ | ⊘ |
| Can external contributors invite new group members? | v* | v* | ⊘ | ⊘ |
| Who approve secret and private group members? | Group administrator | Group administrator | n/a | n/a |
* Group administrators must approve invitations to private or secret groups. Inviting an external contributor doesn't automatically grant access to a group. The external contributor has then to accept the invitation.