Guest Access in Zoho Connect lets your team collaborate with external stakeholders, such as investors, consultants, or contract employees, without those people needing a Zoho account at all. They're added as guests, or restricted guests, to one or more groups within your Zoho Connect network.
Guests vs. Restricted Guests
- Guests are listed in the Guests section, visible in the top-right corner of the Network Wall page. Any member of the network can view a guest's profile and contact them directly.
- Restricted guests have the same underlying privileges as guests, but aren't listed anywhere publicly. They can only be contacted by members of the specific groups they belong to, giving a more discreet way to bring in an external collaborator.
What Guests and Restricted Guests Can Do
- Post, comment, start a poll, and create events within groups they've been added to
- Mention other group members directly
- Access apps enabled within the group, with the exception of Files and Custom Apps
- Access the network wall and forums, depending on the permissions your admin has set
A known limitation: Guests cannot add private tasks, this option appears greyed out with a "you do not have permission" message. A guest can still create a task and assign it to themselves on a board, but not mark it private.
Inviting Guests and Restricted Guests
- Click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select Settings.
- Under Users & Profiles, click Manage Users.
- Click Invite Users, and choose Guests or Restricted Guests.
- Enter their email addresses, separated by commas, and click Send Invite.
Guests and restricted guests can also be added in bulk via import, rather than entering addresses individually. An invitation email is sent, and they're granted access once they accept it.
A Few Other Details Worth Knowing
- Guests and restricted guests can be invited to any number of separate networks, each with its own distinct login credentials.
- Only network admins can add guests and restricted guests, and both types only ever see the specific groups they've been added to, keeping the rest of your network hidden from them.
- Guests can also be added as Contributors, a further permission level within groups, for external stakeholders who need to do more than passively participate.
Need help? 1 Cloud Consultants can help you set up Guest Access in Zoho Connect to collaborate securely with external stakeholders.
Book a discovery call with 1 Cloud Consultants.