Access and visibility
A status page is public or private. Anyone can open a public page. A private page opens only for people with its access link, or with its password if you turn the password on. Use a private page for status that only your customers, a partner or your own staff should see.
Visibility
| Visibility | Value | Who can open the page |
|---|---|---|
| Public | public | Anyone with the URL. |
| Private | private | People with the access link, or the password if the page has one. |
Private pages need the Team or Business plan, or the trial. If a team moves to a plan without private pages, its private pages stay private. See the pricing page.
Make a page private
Owners, managers and admins can change the visibility.
- In the dashboard, open the status page and go to Settings → General.
- Under Visibility, select Private.
- Select Save general.
- Copy the Access link and share it with the people who need access.
You can also select Private when you create the page.
The access link
The access link is the page URL with a key, for example https://acme.spectate.page/?key=AbC123.... Anyone with the link can open the page.
When a visitor opens the link, Spectate signs the visitor in to the page. Then it removes the key from the address bar, so the key does not stay in the browser history. The visitor stays signed in for 30 days. A Sign out link in the footer ends the visit.
The RSS and Atom feeds and the JSON API of a private page also accept the key: add ?key=<access key> to their URL. Feed readers and scripts do not keep a sign-in, so they need the key on each request.
Add a password
A private page can also accept a password. Visitors without the link then see a password prompt.
- Go to Settings → General on a private page.
- Select Also allow a password.
- Type a Password of at least 8 characters.
- Select Save general.
To keep the current password when you save, leave Password empty. A visitor who enters the correct password stays signed in for 30 days. Spectate accepts 5 password attempts per visitor IP address per minute.
All paid plans include password protection. Public pages cannot have a password.
What visitors without access see
| Page | Visitors without access see |
|---|---|
| Private, no password | A "This page isn't available" page, as for a page that does not exist. |
| Private, with password | A password prompt with the page name, logo and colours. |
The share image of a private page shows "Private status page" without status details. The Intercom Messenger app shows the status of a private page, without incident details.
Rotate the access link
Create a new access link if the link reached the wrong people.
- Go to Settings → General on the private page.
- Next to the Access link, select New link.
- Select Create new link.
The old link stops working at once. Every visitor is signed out, also visitors who entered the password. Share the new link with everyone who must keep access.
Changing the password also signs out every visitor.
Search engines
Search engines can index public status pages. There is no setting to stop this for a public page.
Search engines cannot index a private page. They do not have the access link, so they get the "This page isn't available" page or the password prompt. Both tell search engines not to index the page.
Other effects of a private page
- Subscribers of a private page get emails as usual. To subscribe, a visitor must first open the page.
- A custom domain works for private pages, with HTTPS.
- Shared caches and CDNs never store the content of a private page.
Links with ?secret=<password> from the previous version of Spectate continue to work. They open the page with its password.