# Private category for each user

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/private-category-for-each-user/305972>\
**Category:** Support\
**Created:** [April 29, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/private-category-for-each-user/305972 "2024-04-29T17:58:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 1

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**Author:** ![jgl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/jgl/32/382177_2.png) [@jgl](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jgl)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/private-category-for-each-user/305972/1 "2024-04-29T17:58:14Z")

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Hi there everybody 👋

# 🎯 What I’m looking for

I’d like that each user of my community have their own private space where they can write whatever topic they want in a private way. To use it as a personal diary, thoughts that maybe they would like to share later, or as they want. Anybody else can neither see any list of topics or reach the content through a direct URL, unless the owner of the topic decides to invite other people to the topic through an invitation to join a specific topic.

# 💡 The solution I’ve thought about

A group and a category for each user following this process:

### 🗒 The process

The following sequence happens when a user is created.

1. A user named `user` is created
2. Automatically a group named `user-group` is created with the following config.
  - **Owner** : `user`
  - **Members:** `user`
  - **Access:** All the 3 checkboxes disabled
  - **Visibility:** Only owners
  - **Mentions and messages:** Nobody

3. Automatically a category named `user category` is created with the following config:
  - **Security:** Only group `user-group` is allowed to see, create and reply.
  - **Settings/search priority:** Ignore

### 📈 The result after applying the described process

I’ve tested this approach manually in a testing environment with 2 users: `userA` and `userB`.

The result is that under the categories list both users see the “global” categories but `userA` also sees the category `userA space`, and `userB` also sees `userB space`, but `userA` **does not see** `userB space` and `userB` **does not see** `userA space`.

`userA` has created a topic inside `userA space`. Then, I’ve copied the topic url in the `userB` session, and the system does not display anything telling that the topic I’m trying to see does not exist or is private.

### 🟢 Pros

- This is what I am looking for and it is the exact expected behavior for non administrator users.

### 🔴 Cons and concerns

- **Manual process**  
The process described above is manual, therefore I should find a way to automate this, otherwise it would be impractical.

- **As many groups as users: May it affect performance?**  
This is something that probably depends on the number of users, however I don’t want to reach a point where this decision is a limitation for the community regarding the performance of the forum.

- **Administrator can see all private categories**  
The administrator user under the categories page can see all the _“private”_ categories listed, just as the others, and also can see the topics. This is a concern because I would like to guarantee the privacy for the users. So, there is any way to limit this?. I understand that this is a community and privacy within the community is something that you may not expect, so maybe I just must be ok with this limitation and instead login in the community as administrator, I can join as another user and limit myself to use the administrator account only when needed.

# 🤔 Workarounds and alternatives

Does it exist any other way to achieve what I’m looking for? There are any workarounds for the described functionality?. Am I overthinking to find out a solution for an use case that is not something that a forum software should deal with? I’m open to see other points of view.

What do you think?  
Thank you.

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