ABAC: How to create an Access control group (ACG) for your home feed

Matthew Rawls

December 01, 2025 19:42

Overview

Access control groups (ACG) allow app managers to create groups for managing features by audience. There are both system (automatically generated) control groups, as well as custom control groups for special features.

In this article we will walk you through how to set up a custom access control group, how to assign managers/target audience/admins, and an example of how to utilize an access control group for your home feed feature.

Who is this for: App managers

Jump to a section:

Step 1: Setting up Audience categories
Step 2: Setting up Audience rules
Step 3: Setting up ACGs
Step 4: Using an ACG for Home feed permissions
Step 5: Assigning Feature owners for Home feed permissions
FAQ

ACG definition and usage

Access Control Groups (ACGs) are a core component of Simpler’s Audience-Based Access Control (ABAC) system. They define who can manage a feature and which audiences that person can manage it for. Access Control Groups offer precise governance over content creation and visibility within the platform.

Simply put, an Access Control Group (ACG) is a set of permissions that connects:

A feature (e.g., newsletters, alerts, surveys)
A target audience (e.g., U.S. Sales team, Canadian HR, etc.)
A set of managers or admins who are allowed to manage that feature for the selected audience

System ACG vs. Custom ACG

System ACG: Automatically generated control groups by Simpplr.
Custom ACG: Manually generated control groups by Feature owners or App managers.

Roles in ACGs and what they can do

Manager: Can create and manage content for their assigned audience, and can only see content and users relevant to that audience.
Admin: Essentially, an admin is a manager with elevated permissions. In addition to managing content, admins can add or remove other managers, and they can add or remove target audiences within the control group.
Feature owner: Has access to all ACGs tied to a specific feature. They can view and manage content across all audiences, and they can create or delete ACGs for that specific feature.

Home feed definition and home feed ACG usage

What is the Home feed?

Users can locate their Home feed on their Home dashboard or on its own page, depending on the layout the user or App manager has chosen. Through the feed, users can share thoughts, ask questions, and post Files, or Links. Users can share posts with followers, with a site or with a specific person. When a user creates any feed post, it’s shared with the audience set for them in the 'Post in home feed' ACG by the feature owners. This way, app managers and feature owners can control the target audiences of the feed posts for different users.

Home feed ACGs

Manage home feed: This ACG allows users to manage the home feed, and to update and delete feed posts created by others.
Post in home feed: This allows users to create feed posts, as well as update and delete the posts they have created.

Step 1: Setting up Audience categories

Check out the following article for setting up audience categories, and audiences.
1. ABAC: Creating audience categories and audiences

Step 2: Setting up Audience rules

Check out the following article for creating audiences using audience rules.
1. ABAC: Add audiences using audience rules

Step 3: Setting up ACGs

Check out the following article for creating, and using ACGs:
1. ABAC: Using Access Control Groups (ACGs)

Step 4: Using an ACG for Home feed permissions

In the side navigation panel, click the gear icon for your Application settings
Click Access control.
Click the Groups tab.
Search “Home feed”.
To edit ACG Target audiences, Managers, and Admins:
1. Click the 3 dots to the right of the ACG you want to edit.
2. Click Edit.
3. Read the Editing note, and click Continue.
4. To edit the ACG Target audience:
  1. Click the pencil icon next to Target audience.
  2. To select an audience:
    1. Click Browse.
    2. Select your audience.
    3. Click Done.
  3. To remove an audience:
    1. Click X next to the audience name.
  4. To see a list of users in the current audience:
    1. Click the 3 dots next to the users under your Target audience.
  5. To add an audience:
    1. Click + next to Audiences.
    2. Select your audience.
    3. Click Done.
  6. Click Update
5. To edit the ACG Managers:
  1. Click the pencil icon next to Managers
  2. To add one or more users as a Manager:
    1. Click Browse.
    2. Type in the name of the user(s).
    3. Click Done.
  3. To add Managers based on an audience:
    1. Click Add audience.
    2. Select your audience.
    3. Click Done.
  4. Click Update.

To edit the ACG Admins:
1. Click the pencil icon next to Admins
2. To add one or more users as an Admin:
  1. Click Browse.
  2. Type in the name of the user(s).
  3. Click Done.
3. To add Admins based on an audience:
  1. Click Add audience.
  2. Select your audience.
  3. Click Done.
4. Click Update.
Once all edits have been made, click Update.

Step 5: Adding & removing Feature owners for Home feed permissions

In the side navigation panel, click the gear icon for your Application settings.
Click Access control.
Click the Feature Owners tab.
Search “Home feed”.
Click the 3 dots next to the Feature you want to edit.
Click Edit.
To add a user(s) as a Feature owner:
1. Click Users.
2. Select your desired user(s).
3. Click Done.
To remove a user(s) as a Feature owner:
1. Click Assigned.
2. Click X next to the user you want to remove.
3. Click Done.

FAQ

What is the difference between an ACG Admin and a Feature owner?

An ACG Admin can manage content, add or remove other managers, and can add or remove target audiences within the ACG that they are an Admin of.
A Feature owner has elevated permissions that allows them to access all ACGs tied to the feature they are an owner of. For their feature, they can view and manage content across all audiences and can create or delete ACGs across that feature.