By default, anyone with the URL to your Space can access your Space. We automatically generate Spaces using a random string significant enough to prevent access through random guessing; however, the more widely distributed your link is, the higher the possibility you may encounter unwelcome guests. 

Manage from Space Settings

To prevent unwelcome guests, you can easily protect your space with a password. Open Settings in the main menu. With the Space tab active, select Space Access.  Enter a Space Password.

Open your Space Settings. Click Space Access in the Left Nav, then add a Space Password.

To remove the password, select Remove (if it exists).

Manage from the Space Dashboard

Alternatively, you can also open your Space dashboard. Select Space Access in the dashboard's Left Nav Menu. Toggle the Space Password on, enter a password, and select Save. 

You can also add a password through the Space dashboard. Select Space Access, toggle the Space Password on, and enter a password.

To remove the password from the dashboard, toggle the Space Password setting off.

User Experience

When someone tries to enter your password-protected space, they will see this message:

Spaces with a password require guests to successfully enter the password to enter.

For an added level of security, you can limit access to your Space to a guest list. Only logged in users whose email is on the guest list can enter the Space. This article covers how to add or update a guest list for your Space, as well as tips and troubleshooting for this feature. 

Create a Guest List

The first step is to create your guest list. You can do this in Google Sheets, Excel, Numbers, or any program that allows you to save/export a file as .csv (comma separated values). Create the following columns: 

• Column A = email (required).
• Column B = name (optional; sets the guest's name in Gather. If you provide a name in the .csv, the person cannot change their name once in the Space. Leave the name field blank if you want your guests to be able to set their own names.)
• Column C = role (optional to describe the person's role in the Space; this field is for your internal use only and does not actually assign a user role in the Space.)
• Column D = affiliation (optional; displays information below the person's name in the user info card available from the Participants list. See example in screenshot below.)

Save the file as a .csv. 

In your spreadsheet, add email addresses in Column A. Optional data can be added for display name, role, and affiliation. Affiliation info shows in the guest's info card (available by selecting a name in the Participants list).

Upload a Guest List

Open the Space dashboard. Select Space Access in the Left Nav Menu. Select Upload .csv. Browse to your .csv guest list file and select Open from your computer's file explorer.

From the Space dashboard, select Space Access, then in the Guest List section, select Upload .csv.

Your guest list is added, and a new read-only Parsed Guest List section will display. 

After uploading a guest list, the contents display in the Parsed Guest List section.

Add More Guests

To add additional guests, select Add more .csv. Browse to your new or updated .csv file and select Open in your computer's file explorer. (This can be an updated copy with the original file name or a completely different file name.) The Parsed Guest List section displays the updates to your guest list. 

Set Guest List Help Contact

Enter an email address for visitors to contact if they try to enter your Space and are not on the guest list. Select Save. (See the guest view of this message below.)

Download Guest List

To download a .csv file of your current guest list (including any additions you've made with Add more .csv), select Download.

Remove Guest List

To delete your guest list, select Remove. 

What Guests See

When a guest visits a Space with a guest list, they see a message prompting them to sign in. 

The message a visitor sees when they visit a Space with a guest list and they are not signed in.

When they select Sign In, they are prompted to sign in with Google credentials or to enter their email address. After entering their email address, they will receive a one-time use 6-digit authentication code in their email. They can then use this code to enter your Space. 

If the email they sign in with is not on your guest list, after they enter the authentication code, they see a message that they do not have access to the Space. If you have provided a guest list help contact email, this email displays.

The message a signed-in visitor sees if they visit a Space with a guest list and their email is not on the guest list.

Tips and Troubleshooting

• Guest lists are tied to individual Spaces, not accounts.
• Having a guest list overrides password protection. 
• You can add email domain restriction prior to adding a guest list, and the two will work together. However, you cannot add email domain restriction after adding a guest list.
• Can't access the Space? Make sure your email is on the guest list! (Yes, you must add your own email as the Space Admin/Owner.)
• Can't change your name in a Space? Ask the host to change your name in the guest list, or to leave the name field blank so you can change it yourself!
• Occasionally, you may see an error message that says, "line undefined: Unable to auto-detect delimiting character; defaulted to "," that looks like this: 

  

  This may happen if some of the e-mail addresses in your CSV contain multiple periods and you only have two columns/categories.  The quickest way to get around this is to add in an additional column for "role" in your file.

If you have made a reservation or have a subscription for your Space, you can add the additional security method of restricting Space access by email domain. This means to enter your Space, a person must be logged in and their account email must match the domain(s) you've listed. 

To limit Space access by email domain, open your Space dashboard. Select Space Access in the Left Nav Menu, and toggle on Email domain access. Enter the domain(s) you wish to have access to the Space and select Save. 

To restrict access to your Space by email domain, open your Space dashboard. Select Space Access, and toggle on Email domain access. Enter the email domain(s) and select Save.

To remove the email domain restriction, select the x next to the domain, then select Save.

If you are having issues and contact Gather for support, we may need you to grant us access to your Space so we can better troubleshoot. To allow Gather staff to access your Space, go to your Space dashboard and select Space Access in the Left Nav Menu. Toggle on Allow Staff Access. 

Provide Gather Staff access to your Space from the Space dashboard. Click Space Access, then toggle on Allow Staff Access.

You can also grant Gather staff access to your Space from your Settings. Click Settings in the main menu of your Space. In the Space tab, select Space Access in the Left Nav Menu, and toggle on Allow Staff Access.

Invite guests to your remote work office with peace of mind using our new Guest Check-In experience on Gather. You can control how often guests can join while keeping your space secure. There are two ways your guests will experience this: one if they enter through a meeting link, and another if they go directly to your space URL. This article covers both scenarios.

Enabling Guest Check-In

To enable the guest check-in experience, a space Admin will need to:

1. Click on Settings
2. Click on the Space tab
3. Click on Space Access
4. Adjust the toggle for Enable guest check-in

If this is toggled off, guests can still join your space, but they won’t experience the check-in flow outlined below. With this disabled, you can still manage space access in other ways.

Guest Check-In Experience

When a guest enters a space, they will see a screen displaying a list of all active members in the space. They will then be prompted to select who they are there to see. Once they choose a member, that member will be given the option to accept or deny the request.

Host Experience

If you are logged into your account and active in a space, you will receive a notification if a guest is trying to enter and speak with you. You can choose to accept or deny their entry. If you deny entry, the guest will receive a notification. If you accept, you can then choose to send them to the lobby (or spawn location) of your space or allow them to meet you directly where you are located within the space.

Guest Access

By default, a guest who checks into a space is given access for 24 hours. This allows the guest to bypass the check-in process for 24 hours. If you have a frequent visitor, you can assign them guest access that is set for a longer duration.

To issue guest access, the guest must be signed into their Gather account. Once you assign access, the guest will receive an email with the details. If you need to make changes, you can manage the guest access duration or revoke it after it has been created.

Managing the Guest Experience

To manage guest access and settings, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings
2. Click on the Space tab
3. Click on Manage Guests

From here you can view Active, Expired, and Revoked guest access, manage current guests, and add new ones.