---
title: Private docs and reader sign-in | usedocs.app
description: "Make a usedocs help center private or limit collections to signed-in readers, with magic links, a shared password, or a token from your app."
image: "https://usedocs.app/og.png?v=2026-10-04b"
url: "https://usedocs.app/docs/access-control"
---

## Public, private, or in between

In Help center → Access, choose Public or Private for the whole help center. On a public help center, you can still limit a collection, or a single article, to signed-in readers. A collection or article can narrow access, never widen it. Restricted pages stay out of the navigation, search, the sitemap, llms.txt, and Markdown copies for signed-out readers.

## How readers sign in

- **Magic links:** readers enter their email on the sign-in page and get a one-time link, if they are on your readers list or their email matches an allowed domain. The page answers the same way for any email.

- **Shared password:** one password for everyone you share it with. Changing it signs everyone out.

- **From your app:** your app signs a token with your secret and sends the reader to the help center with `?jwt=`.

## Readers list

In Access → Users, add readers by pasting emails, send a sign-in link, or remove someone. The list shows when each reader last signed in. Sign-in attempts are rate limited.

```json
[
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
    "itemListElement": [
      {
        "@type": "ListItem",
        "position": 1,
        "name": "Home",
        "item": "https://usedocs.app/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "ListItem",
        "position": 2,
        "name": "Product docs",
        "item": "https://usedocs.app/docs/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "ListItem",
        "position": 3,
        "name": "Private docs and reader sign-in",
        "item": "https://usedocs.app/docs/access-control"
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "WebPage",
    "name": "Private docs and reader sign-in | usedocs.app",
    "description": "Make a usedocs help center private or limit collections to signed-in readers, with magic links, a shared password, or a token from your app.",
    "url": "https://usedocs.app/docs/access-control",
    "dateModified": "2026-10-04",
    "isPartOf": {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "name": "usedocs.app",
      "url": "https://usedocs.app/"
    }
  }
]
```