Membership
What Private means: subscribers only
Private doesn't mean hidden or invite-only. It means only your active subscribers can get in. See what Private does on each kind of offering, and when to use Unlisted instead.
On Soul, Private is tied to your membership. When you set an event, session, course, content item, chat space or announcement to Private, only your active subscribers can open it. That's the whole meaning: "Only subscribers can access".
Private doesn't mean hidden, only you, or invite-only. A client you send a Private link to can't open it unless they subscribe to your portal. To share something with specific people without a membership, use Unlisted.
Pick the right visibility
| You want… | Use |
|---|---|
| Everyone to find it on your portal | Public |
| Only your paying (or free) subscribers to get it | Private |
| A few people you choose to open it by link, with no membership needed | Unlisted |
| Nobody to see it yet while you work on it | A draft, where the offering has one. Otherwise Unlisted, and don't share the link yet. |
| Subscribers to get a better price on something everyone can buy | Public, with a subscriber price or a Subscriber Only ticket |
Who counts as a subscriber
Someone with an active membership to your portal, as listed under Active subscribers in Customers & Subscribers.
| Situation | Gets Private offerings? |
|---|---|
| Paying monthly or yearly | Yes |
| On a free trial | Yes |
| On a free ($0) membership | Yes |
| A one-time purchase with limited access | Yes, until the access period ends |
| A payment failed and hasn't been fixed | No, until the payment goes through |
| Cancelled, by them or by you | No. Access ends straight away, not at the end of the billing period. |
| Bought something from you, but no membership | No. Customers aren't subscribers. |
| A collaborator on your account | Not on your live portal, unless they subscribe |
| You | Always in the dashboard. On your live portal, only if you're subscribed. |
To see your portal as a subscriber does, use Preview in My Portal → Design and choose Preview As Subscriber. Visitor and Logged In show what everyone else sees.
Private doesn't mean free
Private decides who can get in, not what they pay. If a Private item has a price, subscribers are still asked to pay it. To include it in the membership, or to give members a better deal:
- Content and courses: add a subscriber price with Add subscriber price, and set it to free or to a lower amount. Members see "Free for Subscribers" or "Subscriber Price".
- Events: add a ticket with Subscriber Only.
- Passes: add a price that's for subscribers only.
A membership promo code only discounts the membership itself, not these prices.
What Private does on each offering
Not every offering behaves the same way for people who aren't subscribed. Some are listed with a lock, so visitors can see what membership includes; others are hidden completely.
| Offering | On your portal, for non-subscribers | If they open the link |
|---|---|---|
| Events | Listed | "This event is for [your portal]'s subscribers" with View Subscription Plans. Signed-out visitors are asked to log in or sign up first. |
| 1:1 Sessions | Hidden | A not-found message, with no prompt to subscribe. Send people your pricing page instead. |
| Courses | Listed | The course page, with "This course is exclusive to subscribers." and Subscribe to Enroll |
| Content items | Listed, locked | A "Subscribers Only" wall with Subscribe Now. For a paid item: "Subscribe first, then purchase the content separately." |
| Content collections | Listed, locked | The first few items, then "Subscription Required" with Subscribe Now. Everything inside a Private collection is Private too. |
| Chat Spaces | Hidden | A not-found message |
| Announcements | Hidden | "Announcement not available" |
| Recommendations | Listed | The link to the resource is held back. The title, description and image still show, so don't put anything in them that's only for members. |
The dashboard's own wording varies. The course dialog describes Private as "Only people you invite can access your course", and the chat space dialog says "Visible only to subscribers / members you approve". In both, Private means your active subscribers. For chat spaces you can also add any member yourself.
Offerings without a Private option
| Offering | How membership works there |
|---|---|
| Paths | Every Path on your portal is for subscribers. Non-subscribers see Subscribe to Access. |
| Community | Turn on Require a paid membership in Community Settings. Circles set to Invite only are different: members ask to join and you approve each one. |
| Portal sections | Set a section to Subscribers Only in My Portal → Design → Sections. See Visibility. |
| Passes | No visibility setting, but a Pass can have a price only subscribers can choose. |
When a subscription ends
Nothing they signed up for is cancelled automatically, but what they can still open depends on the offering.
| They had… | After their subscription ends |
|---|---|
| Enrolled in a Private course | They keep their enrollment and can keep learning |
| Joined a Private chat space | They stay in it until you remove them |
| Bought a Private content item | They can't open it again until they resubscribe, even though they paid for it |
| Registered for a Private event | Their registration stays, but they can't open the event page |
| Community with a paid membership | Their community membership is paused until they subscribe again |
If you sell Private items with their own price, tell members in your bio or an announcement that those items need an active membership.
Before you use Private
Set up your membership price first. The dashboard lets you choose Private even when you have no membership, but then nobody can subscribe, so nobody can open it.
Common mix-ups
I set a session to Private for one client, and they can't see it
Private sessions are for subscribers. Unless that client subscribes to your portal, set the session to Unlisted and send them the link. See Offer a private session.
Visitors can still see my Private event or course
That's by design. Private events, courses and content are listed for everyone so visitors can see what the membership includes, but only subscribers can register, enroll or open them.
My subscriber is being asked to pay for a Private item
Private doesn't make something free. Add a subscriber price set to free, or a Subscriber Only ticket for events.
A member says they lost access the day they cancelled
That's expected. Access ends when the subscription is cancelled, not at the end of the period they paid for. If a payment failed, access comes back once it goes through.
I can't open my own Private item on my portal
On your live portal you're treated like any visitor unless you're subscribed. Use Preview As Subscriber in My Portal → Design instead.
I want something hidden while I'm still working on it
Use a draft if the offering has one (content items, collections and Paths do), or Unlisted and don't share the link yet. Private would show it to every subscriber.