How to create a private account?

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1

Hi! Please help me implement the private account feature. This allows users to turn on a toggle switch and keep their account private, with all their data private for other users except friends. If the account is private, another user can send a subscription request, which they can then approve or reject. I also need to set up the “friends” section. I have subscriptions and subscribers, and friends are when you follow each other. I’m having trouble implementing this too… I’d be very grateful for your help!

2

Hello @olga.solovyeva60

You can actually set this up pretty cleanly using a mix of database fields + relationships.

Private Account

  • Add a true/false field in your Users collection → is_private

  • Toggle switch just updates this field

Friends System

  • Create a many-to-many relationship on Users → friends

  • This will store mutual connections (i.e. both users follow each other)

Friend Requests

  • You can have a separate collection like friend_requests (sender, receiver, status)

  • When accepted → add both users to each other’s friends list

Controlling Access (important part)

Instead of heavy filters on the page, handle it at the action level:

  • When a user clicks on someone’s profile:

    • Add a condition:

      • If is_private = false → allow access

      • If is_private = true → check if Current User > friends contains This User

  • If yes → go to profile

  • If no → show request/send request screen

This way you’re not overloading the page with filters, and it’s a more solid approach — basically a simple relationship-based access control (ReBAC) setup.

Once a request is accepted, the user gets added to friends, and access works automatically :+1:

If you get stuck on structuring it, feel free to DM me — happy to help further or jump in if you need hands-on support.