Skip to main content

​
Overview

Private incidents restrict visibility to only the responders who need to see sensitive operational details, customer information, or internal system context.
Using the Rootly web interface, you can add or remove authorized users from a private incident—without requiring Slack or modifying RBAC roles. The Manage Access dialog provides full control over incident-level access, matching the functionality available in Slack.
Managing access requires the appropriate permissions.
Users with private-incident read permissions automatically have access; all others must be explicitly added as incident subscribers.

​
Manage Access via the Web Interface

1

Open the Incident

Navigate to the private incident you want to manage in the Rootly web application.
2

Open the Access Management Modal

Click Manage access, located directly beneath the incident title.
Manage access button highlighted.
3

Add or Remove Users

The access modal includes:
  • A multi-select list showing all users who currently have access
  • A search field to add new users
  • A checkbox titled Remove users
To add users:
Begin typing a user’s name. Select a user to immediately grant them access.To remove users:
Click the × beside a user’s name to remove their access.
Web Manage Access modal showing user removal.
The checkbox “Remove users” does not simply remove everyone you didn’t select.
It removes any subscriber who does not have private-incident read permission according to RBAC.
4

Save Your Updates

Click Update users to apply the changes.
Rootly will immediately grant or revoke incident-level access based on your selections.

​
What Happens After Updating Access

After saving your changes:
  • Newly added users gain access to the private incident immediately
  • Removed users lose access to the incident in Rootly
  • If Slack is connected, Rootly attempts to update channel membership accordingly
  • Users lacking private-incident read permission may be automatically removed if the checkbox was used
  • Access updates apply consistently across Rootly and any connected systems
If Slack workspace permissions prevent Rootly from removing a user from the channel, Rootly still revokes their access within the platform.

​
Best Practices

  • Use the Remove Users checkbox to clean up access
    This keeps private incidents restricted to only those with the correct RBAC permissions.
  • Limit access to essential responders
    Private incidents often contain sensitive or high-impact information; keep the participant list tight.
  • Review access as roles shift
    During long-running or high-severity incidents, revisit access when responsibilities change.
  • Automate access via workflows
    Workflows can automatically add on-call responders, service owners, or leadership when private incidents are created.
  • Ensure users have Rootly access first
    Only Rootly-enabled users can be added as private incident subscribers.

​
Troubleshooting

You may not have permission to manage private-incident access.
Only users with the required RBAC permissions or incident roles will see the button.
If the Remove users checkbox was selected, Rootly removes all subscribers who lack private-incident read permission—even if they previously had access.
They must be a member of your Rootly organization.
If they were recently added to Slack or your IdP, they may need to log into Rootly first.
Some Slack workspaces restrict channel member removal.
Rootly will try to remove them, but Slack may block the action.
Yes—if your workspace has parent→child sync enabled.
Access changes propagate automatically when this feature is turned on.