Slack refines admin controls for guest access, profiles
Workplace collaboration platform Slack is launching two new features aimed at improving guest access management for team admins.
According to Slack, 65 percent of paid teams use the guest access feature, with an average of 15 guests per team. With its latest update, Slack says it's trying to give admins and teams more capabilities when working with guest accounts, without compromising security or policy management.
Admins now have the ability to set a time limit for how long guests remain active in channels. Guest profiles will also display new details, so team members can see what channels guests are in, who invited them, and other details.
With time limits, Slack is trying to offer a bit more control over who can access a team, and for how long. Guest accounts stay active indefinitely by default, but the time limits allow admins to automatically deactivate the guest after a certain amount of time, or set a custom date and time for when a project ends.
Enhanced guest profiles provide transparency into a guest's presence and purpose on a team. Each guest has new profile field that show who invited them, which channels they're in, and when their access expires. Guest profiles will also show a banner over the person's photos in the Team Directory to identify whether they're a single- or multi-channel guest.
"Whether your team already works with dozens of guest accounts or has yet to try them out, these updates reflect our commitment to keep every Slack team secure," Slack wrote in a blog post. "After all, guests are lovely, but nobody appreciates one who overstays their welcome."
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