How do I control who can read my journal entries? What are security settings?
You have the choice to restrict who can read your journal entries. You can even make certain entries private, so only you can read them.
You can assign a security level to an entry by using the full Update Page at http://www.insanejournal.com/update.b
Below the area where you type your entry, there is a dropdown list that allows you to select the security level you want to assign that entry. You may choose from Public, Private, Friends, and Custom. The Custom option will not appear if you have not defined any custom friends groups (http://www.insanejournal.com/support/f
At this time, there is no way to change the security level of your entire journal with one command. Instructions on how you can make your journal Friends-Only or Private can be found at http://www.insanejournal.com/support/fa
The security levels operate as follows:
PUBLIC:
Anyone, whether logged in or not, may read entries that are marked Public.
PRIVATE:
Only the user who posts an entry marked Private can read that entry.
If you are logged in and viewing the friends page of someone who lists you as a friend, your private entries will appear on that page when you are viewing it, because you have access to them, but no one else who views the friends page of your friend will see your private posts.
FRIENDS:
Only you and people that you list as a friend can read entries marked Friends, and only while logged in. If someone adds you to their Friends list, that will not allow them to view your Friends-Only entries. See http://www.insanejournal.com/support/fa
CUSTOM:
Custom security allows you to post to only certain groups of people on your Friends list. These groups are completely customizable. See http://www.insanejournal.com/support/fa
The authentication is done with cookies. If you're logged in (http://www.insanejournal.com/login.bml
USING THE WEB INTERFACE:
The InsaneJournal web update client supports custom friends group security when posting entries. However, to be able to use it, you need to make sure that the browser you are using to update with is capable of running JavaScript. In most browsers you can set this option in either the appropriate security or preferences menus.
In the drop down listing of security levels, on the bottom you should see "Custom...". Choosing this option will make a set of checkboxes appear directly below the scroll box, one for each set of friends groups you have defined. When posting with custom security, you may choose one, some, or all of the currently defined friends groups.
Note that if you post to more than one custom friends group, anyone who is in any selected group will see the entry, not just those in all the selected groups.
KNOWN ISSUES
If you are unable to see the drop down menu for selecting a custom filter on the update page, it is likely that the issue is related to the autofill function in Firefox.
The issue of the autofill function not working correctly with the site has already been noted, and the site administrator is already working on coming up with a solution that does not compromise security but still enables the function to work. However, such development will take time, and we seek your understanding and patience until then.
The solutions to regain the ability to select a custom filter are:
- to post as private to ensure that the security of your post is not compromised and then edit the post to select the filter as this is not affected;
- to disable autofill for InsaneJournal;
- to login once using a fake account (eg. user, with password as the password) as this will store the entry so that the autofill function will not automatically work, and allow the site to work correctly for you.
USING A DOWNLOADED CLIENT:
Many clients available for download include the ability to set security levels for journal entries. For more information on your preferred client, consult its documentation or its menu options. See http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqb
While you can restrict who is allowed to read your journal, it is not possible to know exactly who is visiting your journal. You can, however, add a hit counter provided by a third party. To find a source for the counter, you will need to locate one that does not include the use of a scripting language (For more information about this restriction, please see http://www.insanejournal.com/support/fa
You can assign a security level to an entry by using the full Update Page at http://www.insanejournal.com/update.b
Below the area where you type your entry, there is a dropdown list that allows you to select the security level you want to assign that entry. You may choose from Public, Private, Friends, and Custom. The Custom option will not appear if you have not defined any custom friends groups (http://www.insanejournal.com/support/f
At this time, there is no way to change the security level of your entire journal with one command. Instructions on how you can make your journal Friends-Only or Private can be found at http://www.insanejournal.com/support/fa
The security levels operate as follows:
PUBLIC:
Anyone, whether logged in or not, may read entries that are marked Public.
PRIVATE:
Only the user who posts an entry marked Private can read that entry.
If you are logged in and viewing the friends page of someone who lists you as a friend, your private entries will appear on that page when you are viewing it, because you have access to them, but no one else who views the friends page of your friend will see your private posts.
FRIENDS:
Only you and people that you list as a friend can read entries marked Friends, and only while logged in. If someone adds you to their Friends list, that will not allow them to view your Friends-Only entries. See http://www.insanejournal.com/support/fa
CUSTOM:
Custom security allows you to post to only certain groups of people on your Friends list. These groups are completely customizable. See http://www.insanejournal.com/support/fa
The authentication is done with cookies. If you're logged in (http://www.insanejournal.com/login.bml
USING THE WEB INTERFACE:
The InsaneJournal web update client supports custom friends group security when posting entries. However, to be able to use it, you need to make sure that the browser you are using to update with is capable of running JavaScript. In most browsers you can set this option in either the appropriate security or preferences menus.
In the drop down listing of security levels, on the bottom you should see "Custom...". Choosing this option will make a set of checkboxes appear directly below the scroll box, one for each set of friends groups you have defined. When posting with custom security, you may choose one, some, or all of the currently defined friends groups.
Note that if you post to more than one custom friends group, anyone who is in any selected group will see the entry, not just those in all the selected groups.
KNOWN ISSUES
If you are unable to see the drop down menu for selecting a custom filter on the update page, it is likely that the issue is related to the autofill function in Firefox.
The issue of the autofill function not working correctly with the site has already been noted, and the site administrator is already working on coming up with a solution that does not compromise security but still enables the function to work. However, such development will take time, and we seek your understanding and patience until then.
The solutions to regain the ability to select a custom filter are:
- to post as private to ensure that the security of your post is not compromised and then edit the post to select the filter as this is not affected;
- to disable autofill for InsaneJournal;
- to login once using a fake account (eg. user, with password as the password) as this will store the entry so that the autofill function will not automatically work, and allow the site to work correctly for you.
USING A DOWNLOADED CLIENT:
Many clients available for download include the ability to set security levels for journal entries. For more information on your preferred client, consult its documentation or its menu options. See http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqb
While you can restrict who is allowed to read your journal, it is not possible to know exactly who is visiting your journal. You can, however, add a hit counter provided by a third party. To find a source for the counter, you will need to locate one that does not include the use of a scripting language (For more information about this restriction, please see http://www.insanejournal.com/support/fa
Last Updated:
January 13th, 2008 (qem_chibati)
Back to the Friends & Security Levels FAQ category.
Back to the FAQ listing.
Back to the search page.
Back to the support area.