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Guest editors allow you to invite external collaborators—clients, contractors, or partners—to work on specific pages without giving them access to your entire workspace. This provides secure, limited collaboration for people outside your organization.

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Overview

Guest editors provide:
  • Limited access to only shared pages
  • Full editing capabilities on pages they’re invited to
  • No workspace visibility - they can’t see your workspace structure
  • Secure collaboration without exposing internal content
  • Easy management from your workspace settings
Guest editor collaboration was introduced in version 0.9.4 for desktop and mobile platforms.

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Guest Editor vs. Member

Understand the key differences:

Workspace Member

Full workspace access:
  • See workspace structure and spaces
  • Create new pages and databases
  • Access public spaces
  • Invite other members
  • Ideal for team members and employees

Guest Editor

Limited page access:
  • Access only explicitly shared pages
  • Cannot see workspace structure
  • Cannot create new workspace pages
  • Cannot invite others
  • Ideal for clients and external partners
Guest editors are perfect for client projects, contractor work, or any external collaboration where you want to limit access to specific content.

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Inviting Guest Editors

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From the Share Menu

The easiest way to invite a guest editor:
1

Open Share Menu

Navigate to the page you want to share and click the Share button.
2

Enter Email Address

In the Share tab, enter the email address of the person you want to invite. If they’re not already a workspace member, they’ll be invited as a guest.
3

Set Permissions

Choose Can Edit to give them editing rights, or Can View for read-only access.
4

Send Invitation

Click Invite. The person receives an email invitation with a link to access the shared page.

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Bulk Inviting Guests

You can invite multiple guest editors at once (available since v0.9.8):
  1. Open the Share menu
  2. Enter multiple email addresses separated by commas
  3. Set the permission level (Can View or Can Edit)
  4. Click Invite to send invitations to all recipients
Guest editors can only access pages you explicitly share with them. They won’t see any other content in your workspace.

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What Guest Editors Can Do

Depending on their permissions:

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With “Can Edit” Permission

Content Editing

  • Make changes to page content
  • Add and modify blocks
  • Update database entries
  • Format text and add media

Collaboration

  • Participate in real-time editing
  • Create mentions and assignments
  • See other collaborators
  • Comment and discuss

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With “Can View” Permission

  • Read all page content
  • View comments and mentions
  • Export the page
  • See page history
  • Cannot make any edits

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What Guest Editors Cannot Do

Workspace Access

  • View workspace structure
  • See spaces or other pages
  • Access public workspace content
  • Browse workspace members

Administrative Actions

  • Invite other people
  • Create new workspace pages
  • Change workspace settings
  • Access billing information

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Managing Guest Editors

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View All Guest Editors

See who has guest access to your workspace:
1

Open Settings

Navigate to Settings → Members.
2

View Guest List

Guest editors are listed separately from workspace members with a “Guest” badge.
3

Check Access

See which pages each guest can access and their permission level.

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Manage Pending Guest Invitations

Track and manage invitations that haven’t been accepted:
  1. Go to Settings → Members
  2. View the Pending Members section
  3. See all outstanding guest invitations
  4. Resend or cancel invitations as needed
Pending members management was added in version 0.9.8 for both desktop and mobile.

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Remove Guest Access

To revoke a guest editor’s access:
1

Open Share Menu

Navigate to the shared page and open the Share menu.
2

Find the Guest

Locate the guest editor in the collaborator list.
3

Remove Access

Click the remove button (×) next to their name.
4

Confirm

The guest immediately loses access to that page.
If a guest was invited to multiple pages, you need to remove them from each page individually.

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Change Guest Permissions

Update what a guest can do:
  1. Open the Share menu on the relevant page
  2. Find the guest editor in the list
  3. Click the permission dropdown
  4. Switch between Can Edit and Can View
  5. Changes take effect immediately

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Guest Editor Experience

What external collaborators see when invited:

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Accepting the Invitation

1

Receive Email

The guest receives an email invitation with details about who shared the page and what they can access.
2

Click Link

They click the invitation link, which may prompt them to create an AppFlowy account if they don’t have one.
3

Access Page

After logging in, they’re taken directly to the shared page.
4

Find Shared Pages

All pages shared with them appear in their Shared with me section.

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Guest Navigation

When a guest editor logs into AppFlowy:
  • They see only the Shared with me section
  • No workspace sidebar or structure is visible
  • They can only access pages explicitly shared with them
  • Their interface is simplified compared to full members
Guest editors have a streamlined experience focused solely on the pages they need to access.

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Use Cases

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Client Projects

1

Create Project Page

Set up a dedicated page for the client project with all relevant information.
2

Invite Client as Guest

Share the page with your client’s email as a guest editor with Can Edit or Can View permissions.
3

Collaborate Securely

Work together on the project page without exposing your internal workspace.
4

Remove Access When Done

After the project ends, remove the client’s access to the page.

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Contractor Collaboration

1. Invite freelancer as guest editor
2. Share only the pages they need for their work
3. Give Can Edit permissions for active collaboration
4. Monitor their contributions in real-time
5. Remove access when the contract ends

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Partner Coordination

  • Share specific pages with partner organizations
  • Maintain separate collaboration spaces for each partner
  • Control what each partner can see and edit
  • Keep internal discussions private

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External Reviewers

  • Invite reviewers as guests with Can View permission
  • Share documents that need external approval
  • Use mentions to request specific feedback
  • Remove access after review is complete

Vendor Management

Share project specs and requirements with vendors without giving workspace access.

Advisory Board

Give advisors access to specific documents for review and guidance.

Temporary Collaborators

Bring in outside experts for short-term projects with easy access removal.

Client Feedback

Allow clients to review and comment on deliverables before final approval.

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Pro Plan Requirements

Guest editor functionality requires an AppFlowy Pro Plan for the workspace owner.

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Upgrading for Guest Editors

If you see upgrade prompts when inviting guests:
  1. The workspace owner needs a Pro Plan subscription
  2. Click the upgrade button in the Share menu
  3. Select a Pro Plan in the billing settings
  4. After upgrading, you can invite unlimited guest editors

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Pro Plan Benefits

  • Unlimited guest editors: Invite as many external collaborators as needed
  • Advanced permissions: Fine-grained control over guest access
  • Priority support: Get help with guest editor setup
  • Enhanced security: Additional security features for external collaboration
Workspace members and guests who are invited see prompts explaining the need for Pro Plan if it’s not activated.

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Security Best Practices

1

Limit Page Access

Only share pages that the guest absolutely needs to access. Create dedicated pages for external collaboration.
2

Use Can View When Possible

Start with read-only access and upgrade to Can Edit only when necessary.
3

Regular Access Audits

Periodically review guest access in Settings → Members and remove inactive guests.
4

Remove Access Promptly

As soon as a project or collaboration ends, remove the guest’s access to all shared pages.
Never share pages containing sensitive internal information with guest editors. Create sanitized versions for external sharing.

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Troubleshooting

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Guest Can’t Accept Invitation

  • Verify the email address is correct
  • Check if the invitation expired (resend from Settings → Members)
  • Ensure they’re using the correct email to sign in
  • Have them check spam/junk folder for the invitation

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Guest Sees Too Much Content

  • They may have been added as a Member instead of Guest
  • Check their role in Settings → Members
  • Change their role to Guest to limit access
  • Remove and re-invite with guest-level access

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Can’t Invite Guest (Pro Plan Required)

  • Guest editor features require a Pro Plan subscription
  • Contact the workspace owner to upgrade
  • If you are the owner, navigate to Settings → Billing to upgrade

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Guest Can’t Edit Despite Having Permission

  • Verify their permission is set to Can Edit
  • Check if the page is locked
  • Ensure they’re logged in to the correct account
  • Have them refresh the page to sync latest permissions

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Next Steps

Permissions

Understand the full permission system in AppFlowy

Sharing Pages

Learn all the ways to share content

Real-Time Editing

Collaborate in real-time with guests and members

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