# Can individual chat be disabled for certain users but not channels?

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/can-individual-chat-be-disabled-for-certain-users-but-not-channels/391301>\
**Category:** Support\
**Tags:** chat\
**Created:** [December 14, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/can-individual-chat-be-disabled-for-certain-users-but-not-channels/391301 "2025-12-14T22:31:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 3

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![stephtara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/stephtara/32/517827_2.png) [@stephtara](https://meta.discourse.org/u/stephtara)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 9:35pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/can-individual-chat-be-disabled-for-certain-users-but-not-channels/391301/3 "2025-12-16T21:35:18Z")

</div>

Just to make sure I have got it absolutely right:

- chat allowed groups: this is for channels? what else does it do?
- direct message enabled groups: this if for direct “instant messaging”?

So if a group is in “chat allowed” but not in “direct message enabled” they can participate in channels, chat with a moderator who would initiate a chat with them, but not initiate an instant messaging conversation with somebody else?

And those settings are completely independent from “personal messages/topics”, permissions for which are set with other settings?

Asking because the description is kind of unclear in my interface:

 ![Screenshot 2025-12-16 at 22.31.43](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/1/9/1/1915e987b055b762bedf51a7cfa59949c38fa74b.png)

 ![Screenshot 2025-12-16 at 22.29.58](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/1/3/e/13e63b5942f900f0fdb0abdef230989a27e1ef62.png)

---

_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/can-individual-chat-be-disabled-for-certain-users-but-not-channels/391301)._