Visibility Controls

Overview

Visibility controls are a core privacy feature in Ghost Planet, allowing you to control who can see your investigations, evidence, and locations. Every major feature includes a visibility boolean field that determines public or private status.

How Visibility Works

Ghost Planet uses a simple boolean system for visibility:

Visibility bool `json:"visibility"`

Value	Status	Who Can Access	Description
`true`	Public	All Ghost Planet users	Visible to the entire community, contributes to shared knowledge
`false`	Private	Only you (the owner)	Hidden from other users, for personal use only

The visibility field appears in Investigations, Evidence, and Locations, providing consistent privacy control across all features.

Visibility by Feature

Investigations
Evidence
Locations

Investigation Visibility:

type Investigation struct {
    ID               int64      `json:"id"`
    UserID           int64      `json:"user,omitempty"`
    LocationID       int64      `json:"location,omitempty"`
    Phenomena        string     `json:"phenomena"`
    CreatedAt        time.Time  `json:"created_at"`
    Evidence         []Evidence `json:"evidence,omitempty"`
    EmergencyContact string     `json:"emergency_contact"`
    Visibility       bool       `json:"visibility"` // Public/Private
}

Public Investigations (true):

Visible in community investigation lists
Linked evidence appears in location history
Contributes to location popularity
Helps other investigators plan research
Builds your investigator profile

Private Investigations (false):

Only visible to you
Evidence remains hidden from community
Doesn’t affect location popularity
Ideal for preliminary research
Protects sensitive findings

Emergency contact information is always private, regardless of investigation visibility setting.

Evidence Visibility:

type Evidence struct {
    ID              int64     `json:"id"`
    InvestigationID int64     `json:"investigation_id"`
    LocationID      int64     `json:"location_id"`
    CreatedByUserID int64     `json:"created_by_user_id"`
    CreatedAt       time.Time `json:"created_at"`
    Visibility      bool      `json:"visibility"` // Public/Private
    Version         int32     `json:"version"`
}

Public Evidence (true):

Photos appear in location galleries
Audio/EVPs available for community analysis
Text notes contribute to location knowledge
Links to public investigations
Helps validate paranormal claims

Private Evidence (false):

Hidden from all other users
Personal documentation only
Doesn’t appear in location evidence
Protected from public scrutiny
Can be made public later

Evidence visibility is independent of investigation visibility. You can have private evidence within a public investigation, or vice versa.

Location Visibility:

type Location struct {
    ID                          int64           `json:"id"`
    Name                        string          `json:"name"`
    Address                     string          `json:"address"`
    State                       string          `json:"state"`
    City                        string          `json:"city"`
    Zip                         string          `json:"zip"`
    Lore                        string          `json:"lore"`
    Latitude                    float64         `json:"latitude"`
    Longitude                   float64         `json:"longitude"`
    PastInvestigationsUser      []Investigation `json:"past_investigations_user"`
    PastInvestigationsCommunity []Investigation `json:"past_investigations_community"`
    Popularity                  Popularity      `json:"popularity"`
    Visibility                  bool            `json:"visibility"` // Public/Private
    CreatedByUserID             int64           `json:"created_by_user_id"`
    OwnerUserID                 int64           `json:"owner_user_id"`
}

Public Locations (true):

Appear in community location database
Available for all users to investigate
Accumulate community investigations
Gain popularity rating
Contribute to paranormal knowledge base

Private Locations (false):

Only visible to owner
Hidden from location search
Personal research spots
No community contributions
Protect sensitive or proprietary locations

Private locations are ideal for locations on private property, sensitive sites, or places you want to research exclusively before sharing with the community.

Visibility Strategies

Choose the right visibility approach for your research goals:

Start Private

Begin with private visibility for new investigations:

Conduct initial research without public scrutiny
Review and organize evidence before sharing
Verify findings before making claims
Maintain control over sensitive information

Review and Analyze

While still private:

Analyze photos for genuine anomalies
Review audio for EVPs
Document findings in text notes
Cross-reference with location lore

Choose to Share

Decide what to make public:

Share validated evidence that contributes to knowledge
Keep debunked or unclear evidence private
Make locations public to invite collaboration
Publish investigations to build your profile

Manage Visibility Over Time

Visibility can be changed after creation:

Make private evidence public after analysis
Keep sensitive investigations private indefinitely
Adjust location visibility based on access changes
Update as your research goals evolve

Privacy Hierarchy

Understand how visibility settings interact:

Investigation + Evidence Privacy

Scenario 1: Public Investigation + Public Evidence

Investigation appears in community lists
Evidence visible to all users
Contributes to location popularity
Maximum community engagement

Scenario 2: Public Investigation + Private Evidence

Investigation visible, but specific evidence hidden
Useful for sharing investigation fact while protecting sensitive evidence
Evidence summaries can still be shared in text notes

Scenario 3: Private Investigation + Public Evidence

Investigation hidden from community
Evidence appears in location galleries without investigation context
Unusual configuration, not recommended

Scenario 4: Private Investigation + Private Evidence

Complete privacy
Nothing visible to other users
Personal research documentation
Can be selectively made public later

Most users start with Scenario 4 (fully private) and move to Scenario 1 (fully public) after reviewing their findings.

Location + Investigation Privacy

Public Location + Private Investigation:

Location visible to all users
Your investigation remains hidden
Other users can investigate the same location
Your past investigations list doesn’t include this one publicly

Private Location + Public Investigation:

Not possible: investigations at private locations inherit privacy
Private locations don’t appear in public investigation lists
Protects location from discovery

Private Location + Private Investigation:

Complete privacy for exclusive research
Location and investigation both hidden
Ideal for sensitive or proprietary sites

Making a location public reveals its name, address, coordinates, and lore to all users. Ensure you have permission to share location information, especially for private property.

Use Cases

Public Research
Private Research
Mixed Approach

When to use public visibility:✅ Contributing to community knowledge✅ Validating paranormal claims with peer review✅ Building your investigator reputation✅ Crowdsourcing location information✅ Inviting collaboration on active cases✅ Sharing well-documented evidence✅ Increasing location popularity for future researchersBest for:

Established locations with public access
Clear, validated evidence
Collaborative investigations
Educational purposes

Changing Visibility

Visibility settings can be updated after creation:

func (e EvidenceModel) Update(evidence *Evidence) error

Update the visibility field through the update endpoint:

{
  "visibility": true
}

Review Content

Before making something public, review:

Evidence quality and authenticity
Location information accuracy
Personal information in notes
Permissions for location sharing

Update Visibility

Change the visibility field to true (public) or false (private).

Verify Changes

Confirm:

Public items appear in community searches
Private items are hidden from other users
Related items (investigations, evidence) reflect the change

Making something public is easy to reverse, but once shared, others may have already viewed or referenced your content. Consider privacy carefully before publishing.

Best Practices

Privacy Recommendations

Protect Personal Information:

Never include personal addresses in location lore
Emergency contacts are always private (system-enforced)
Review text notes for identifying information
Use generic location names for private property

Quality Control:

Keep evidence private until validated
Make public only your best, clearest evidence
Update visibility as analysis reveals quality
Protect reputation with selective sharing

Location Ethics:

Get permission before making private property public
Respect “No Trespassing” signs and local laws
Consider impact of popularity on location access
Share responsibly to avoid location damage

Community Contribution:

Share validated evidence to help others
Make locations public to build the database
Contribute to collective paranormal knowledge
Credit other investigators’ work in notes

Investigations - Investigation visibility controls
Evidence Collection - Evidence privacy settings
Locations - Location public/private status

Get Started

Core Features

Guides

Overview

How Visibility Works

Visibility by Feature

Visibility Strategies

Privacy Hierarchy

Use Cases

Changing Visibility

Best Practices

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Features

Guides

​Overview

​How Visibility Works

​Visibility by Feature

​Visibility Strategies

​Privacy Hierarchy

​Use Cases

​Changing Visibility

​Best Practices

​Related Features

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

How Visibility Works

Visibility by Feature

Visibility Strategies

Privacy Hierarchy

Use Cases

Changing Visibility

Best Practices

Related Features