ABAC: How to restrict an album by audience

Overview

Audience Based Access Control (ABAC) provides the flexibility to enable highly targeted content, communications and access controls. 

In this article, we provide an overview on how you can create an album that utilizes ABAC to restrict that album to a specific audience. This capability empowers content creators to control content visibility by assigning relevant audiences.

Who is this for: App managers, site owners, site managers, site content managers, any user who has access to create content in that site

Jump to a section: 

• Creating an album 
• Optional step: Create an album & restrict your album to an audience
• FAQ 
• Best practices

Album definition and usage

Albums are one of the three types of content available to create in Simpplr, along with events and pages. Albums are collections of images and/or videos you can post and share with your organization.

Note: An album can be created only if the “Albums” content type is enabled within the site

When to restrict an album 

What does it mean to restrict an album? 

Restricting an album will ensure that only the selected audiences within a site have access to view that specific album. This means you can have albums that are visible to everyone within your site, or you can have albums visible to specific people/audiences within your site. 

If an album is not restricted:

If an album is not restricted, it is accessible by the site audience:

• Public site: Everyone who can access the site
• Private site:  Everyone who is a member of the site 

Who can restrict an album: Any user who can create content will be able to restrict the access of an album:  

• App managers, site owner, site managers, site content managers 
• Standard users (if content submission enabled) 
• Feature owner/Admin/Manager of Manage site Access Control Group (if enabled) 

Audience definition and usage 

Audiences are customizable groups of users based on attributes like role, location, or specific individuals. They can then be used to manage who has access to specific features and content. 

Creating an album 

To create an album:

1. Click + Create at the bottom left of your screen. 
2. Click Album. 
3. Select the site you would like to publish your album to.
4. Fill out the necessary fields:
   1. Add images or a video URL.
   2. Album description.
   3. Add relevant files, attachments, and organizers.
   4. Add topics.
   5. Publish from and publish until dates.
   6. If you would like to maximize content width.
   7. A custom album summary.
   8. If you would like for anyone with access to be able to add images/videos to the album.
5. Publish.

Note: If you are not ready to publish this album just yet, click Save to save it as a draft. 

• To access the draft at a later time: 
  • Click the rocketship button on your side navigation bar, titled Manage features.
  • Click the button titled Content.
  • Your drafted album will appear, and will be available to edit, delete, or publish.

Optional: Create an album & restrict your album to an audience 

1. Click + Create at the bottom left of your screen. 
2. Click Album. 
3. Select the site you would like to publish your album to.
4. Fill out the necessary fields:
   1. Add images or a video URL.
   2. Album description.
   3. Add relevant files, attachments, and organizers.
   4. Add topics.
   5. Publish from and publish until dates.
   6. If you would like to maximize content width.
   7. A custom album summary.
   8. If you would like for anyone with access to be able to add images/videos to the album.
5. At the bottom of the album creation, toggle on “Restrict who can see this album”. 
6. Under the “Select audience” section, click Browse.
7. If you would like for this album to be visible to a selected audience:
   1. Browse through the available audiences.
   2. Select your preferred audience.
8. If you would like for this album to be visible to a sub-audience.
   1. Click on the + icon (Add sub-audience) in front of any audience.
   2. Enter the audience details.
   3. Click Create.
9. Once your audience selections are made, click Done.
10. Click Publish.

Note: If you are not ready to publish this album just yet, you may click Save to save this as a draft. 

• To access this draft at a later time: 
  • Click the rocketship button on your side navigation bar, titled Manage features.
  • Click the button titled Content.
  • Your drafted album will appear, and will be available to edit, delete, or publish.

FAQ 

Who can see restricted content or albums?

Content will continue to reside within sites. However, content can now be restricted to a specific audience, making it visible only to that audience, with certain exceptions as follows:

• Restricted content is always visible to the author in manage content screens and search results even if author is not part of the target audience of the content
• Restricted content is always visible to the users having manage sites permission i.e. site managers, site owners, site content managers or Feature owner/Admin/Manager of Manage site ACG

Where can I manage restricted content or albums?

Content that has restricted access will now be marked with a lock icon within the Manage content screens (accessible via Manage > Content or Manage site > Content). This update helps managers easily identify restricted content.

Clicking on the lock icon displays what audience is that album restricted to.

View all the restricted content in that site by using the “Restricted” filter on the Manage content screen.

Are files within a restricted album automatically restricted as well?

File management is smarter and more consistent with content access rules. With restriction on albums, files automatically align to the restriction status of the content they’re attached to, while still giving you flexibility to override in certain cases. Clear banners, toggles, and warnings ensure you always know the impact before making changes.

• Files attached to unrestricted content remain accessible to all site members
• Files attached to restricted content now inherit the same restrictions by default
• You can override file restrictions in certain cases, but we’ll guide you with clear banners and toggles so you understand the impact

Who gets notifications for a restricted album?

If an album is restricted, notification would be sent only to the users who are a part of the restricted audience. 

Who can search for a restricted album?

Only users in the restricted audience would be able to search and find the restricted album.

Best practices, recommendations, and pro tips

• When creating your album:
  • Add a clear, and engaging album description to boost album engagement. 
  • Select a “Publish until” date to reduce long-term site clutter.
  • Add a description to each photo to increase interest. 
  • Select the “Open album” checkbox if you would like for your audience to be able to contribute to the album.
• When selecting your preferred audience: 
  • If you would like to target a smaller audience within your pre-existing audience, select the + button. Then, you may add a group or rule to create a sub audience on the fly!
  • Once within the sub audience selection, if you click the number indicating how many people are within your audience, you can see the list of users within that audience.
• After making your audience selection: 
  • You may double check the list of users who will have access to the album by clicking the 3 dots to the right of your user’s images.
• When publishing your album:
  • Promote the album by adding it to your home carousel, adding it to your site carousel, or sending a notification to your users to boost engagement & interaction.\

Related articles 

• Link to ABAC: Creating a site and updating site visibility
• What are albums?