Share content externally with Confluence public links

If you are looking for a secure way to share Confluence pages outside your organization, Public Links might be the solution you need. Public Links allows you to share pages with anyone, regardless of whether they have a Confluence account or not. In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of Public Links and how to use them.

What is a Public Link?

A public link is a secure URL that provides a view-only version of a Confluence page, allowing anyone to view and share the content. It's useful for sharing information with clients, vendors, and contractors without requiring an extra Confluence seat. Public Links are currently restricted to existing users, and only Confluence or site administrators can enable them. Once enabled, users can choose to disable or enable public links on individual pages.

Benefits of Public Links

One of the main benefits of using Public Links is that it provides a secure way to share information with people outside your organization. When you share a page using a Public Link, you can control who can access the information by setting permissions. You can choose to allow anyone with the link to view the page, or restrict access to specific groups or individuals.

Another advantage of using Public Links is that it makes it easy to collaborate with people who are not part of your organization. For example, if you are working on a project with a client, you can use a Public Link to share project updates. This makes it easier to stay on the same page and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal.

How to use Public Links

“Allowing” public links on Confluence make them available to users on pages they have access to. “Disallowing” public links on Confluences makes them unavailable to all users and turns off all existing public links.

Only site and product admins can allow or disallow public links.

To allow public links on Confluence:

1. Select at the top-right of the navigation.

2. Select Settings.

3. Click Public links on the left.
   This will display the Public links screen.

4. Toggle to allow public links on Confluence.

With public links allowed, Confluence users will be able to use a public link to share individual pages with anyone on the internet.

To disallow public links on Confluence:

1. Select at the top-right of the navigation.
2. Select Settings.
3. Click Public links on the left.
4. This will display the Public links screen.
5. Toggle off Allow public links on Confluence.

How do public links work?

A public link creates a view-only version of an individual Confluence page that can be viewed by anyone on the internet with the public link.

• When a user enables the public link on a page, it generates a unique URL.

• The public link’s unique URL directs to a view-only version of the page that can be shared with anyone on the internet.

• The view-only version of the page can only be accessed through the public link. The public link can be shared with anyone.

• The view-only version of the page is a limited version of the regular Confluence page. 

• Public pages created through public links will not appear in search engine results.

If a logged-in user clicks a public link and has existing access to the page, they’ll be redirected to the regular page in Confluence.

Public links only shares individual pages. If you enable a public link on a parent page, it only applies to the parent page, not any of its child pages.

Conclusion

Public Links are a powerful tool for sharing Confluence pages with people outside your organization. By using Public Links, you can control who has access to your information and collaborate more effectively with clients, partners, and other stakeholders. So, if you need to share information with people outside your organization, give Public Links a try and see how they can help you work more efficiently and securely.