Slack - Single-Channel Guests & Shared Channels

Summary

About Single-Channel guests and Shared Channels, and how to request and invite external guests in Slack.

Sections in this Article

• What is a Single-Channel Guest
• When to request a Single-Channel Guest
• How to request a Single-Channel Guest
• Guest Requirements
• Removing Guests
• What is a Shared Channel?
• How do I request a Shared Channel? 

NOTE: The Single-Channel Guest feature is for non-Zendesk employees to be added to a private channel in Slack. 

What is a Single-Channel Guest

A Single-Channel guest is a Slack user that only has access to a specific Slack Channel which they have been invited to. Access to other channels and information is limited.

Guests can:

• View the message history of the channel they can access
• Access files shared in their channel
• See and direct message team members who are on the same channel
• See other team members who direct message them

Guests cannot:

• Use custom or integration slash commands
• Create, rename, archive, or delete channels
• Add or remove other team members from channels
• Create, edit, disable, or @mention User Groups
• Create or make changes to apps or custom integrations
• Set channel topics and purposes
• Access team statistics or access logs
• Add custom emoji, Slackbot responses, or team loading messages
• Access the IRC/XMPP gateways

When to Request a Single-Channel Guest

Some members of your Slack Team (like contractors, interns, or clients) may only need access to certain channels. Here are some examples of that:

• I'm in Sales and am currently working on a huge deal that requires me and a few team members to be in communication with my customers daily. Inviting my customer as a Single-Channel guest to a specific channel would make communication far less complicated. 
• I'm in IT working with contractors whom I communicate with daily. Using Slack would help limit other channels of communication between my team and our third-party partners. 
• I'm a marketing coordinator and work on projects alongside vendors all the time. Inviting these vendors to our project channel as a Single-Channel guest would really help with collaboration and quick communication. 

How to Request a Single-Channel Guest

Submit a ticket to [e-mail] and be sure to include the following:

• Your specific use case for adding a Single-Channel Guest
• The channel you're requesting the Single-Channel Guest to be added to
• The Channel Owner's name
• The full name and email address of the Single-Channel Guest
• Indicate how long access is needed
• Be sure to notify your channel of the guest being invited so there are no surprises

Guest Requirements

• Please ask your Single-Channel guest to set their Slack Display Name to align with our current policy ('@firstinitiallastname') but to also include '-ext'. Example: Joe Bloggs is a Single-Channel guest, so he would set his Slack display name as 'jbloggs-ext'.
• Please add an extension '-ext' (public channel) or '-p-ext' (private channel) to the name of your channel in order to identify which channels have external guests. Do this by navigating to the channel> Click the gear icon in the upper right corner> Click Additional Details> Click Rename Channel. Only the Channel Owner can do this. 
• Please make sure to select "Do not show channel history to new guest" when adding an external party as a single-channel guest in your private channel. DISCLAIMER: Your channel history WILL BE ARCHIVED. To avoid this, feel free to create a new channel. 

• Single-channel guests should not be given access to a private channel indefinitely. It is recommended that every quarter, channel owner(s) do a review of external parties in their channel and see if access is still needed. 

Removing Guests

Please submit a ticket to [e-mail] requesting the removal of your guest, and be sure to include the following:

• The name of the channel
• The full name and email of your guest 

 What is a Shared Channel?

Shared channels let two separate organizations work together in a Slack channel, each from within their own Slack workspace. 

Here's what members of the same shared channel can do: 

• Send and read messages in the channel
• Exchange direct messages with other members
• Upload files to share with other members
• Use apps and integrations in the channel

How do I request a shared channel? 

Submit a ticket to [e-mail] and include the following:

• Your specific use case for adding a Shared Channel
• The requested Channel name 
• The Channel Owner's name
• The full name and email address of the admin of the other party's Slack Workspace
• The other party's Slack workspace URL (for example, guestcompany.slack.com)
• Be sure to notify your channel of the guest being invited so there are no surprises