Issues with users permissions on a free plan

[Daniel Grzymala]

Hi,

I have 2 problems with my Confluence spaces on a free plan.
Both seem to be related to "Grant all users permissions for this space" button located in:

Space Settings -> Space Access -> Users

Issue 1: I've created a new space on my Confluence. I wanted other users who have accounts and access to my Atlassian instance to be access this new space as well. After clicking below button "Grant..." nothing happens, users still cannot see this space on View all spaces list.

Issue 2: I clicked this button also on default Confluence space access settings from user profile that has granted admin access. After that this user lost the access to this space and only instance owning account can access it.

What I need is for all users who have accounts on my Confluence to have access to these spaces but this button it seems to only create more problems.

Thanks for any help.

[Mia Tamm _Simpleasyty_]

Hi @Daniel Grzymala,

Here’s what’s going on with the Confluence Free plan:

• Permissions aren’t customizable on the Free plan. New spaces automatically become accessible to all logged-in users—there’s no granular control over space-level permissions. 
  
  

• That explains why the “Grant all users permissions for this space” button often fails or does nothing: on Free, it’s redundant—spaces are already open to all authenticated users—or it's not supported.

What you can do:

• If you need controlled access, even minimal, you’ll need to upgrade to Standard or Premium, where permission settings are unlocked.
  
  

• Some users have found a workaround: temporarily upgrading to Standard, adjusting permissions, and then downgrading—though it's not officially supported or guaranteed.

TL;DR:

On the Free plan, space permissions are effectively disabled—spaces are already open to all users, so that button is nonfunctional. To manage access properly, you’ll need a paid plan.

— Mia Tamm from Simpleasyty

[Daniel Grzymala]

Hi Mia,

Thanks for the answer but unfortunately below part is not true:

That explains why the “Grant all users permissions for this space” button often fails or does nothing: on Free, it’s redundant—spaces are already open to all authenticated users—or it's not supported.

a) Spaces created by users are not visible to all - that's my base issue as space created by one user cannot be accessed or are not visible to other users hence I tried to use "Grant all users permissions for this space" 

b) additionally button seems to have an effect but other than expected - meaning that when admin user (not an originator of the space and instance) who had access to the space clicked this button in effect lost an access to the space directly after that.

It seems that users on the free plan using this button loose the access instead of granting it to all which is not intuitive.

[Mia Tamm _Simpleasyty_]

Hi @Daniel Grzymala ,

Thank you for clarifying. You’re absolutely right that on the Free plan, spaces created by a user are not always visible to everyone else by default. I should have been more precise there. Permissions are indeed very limited on Free, and that’s why the behavior of the “Grant all users permissions for this space” button can be confusing and sometimes counter-intuitive.

What you describe, where clicking the button actually results in loss of access rather than granting it has also been reported by other users. Unfortunately, because Free doesn’t give full control over permissions, the experience can feel inconsistent compared to the paid tiers.

So in short: you’re correct, and the main takeaway remains that managing access reliably does require upgrading to Standard or Premium, since the Free plan leaves a lot of these cases ambiguous.

Thanks again for pointing this out.

— Mia Tamm from Simpleasyty

[Daniel Grzymala]

Thanks @Mia Tamm _Simpleasyty_ . My point is that if this function is actionable by Free plan user especially in a negative way then either:

- it should be available only to Standard/Premium users and blocked for Free user as it converts Space to Standard/Premium user & instance owner available only (for Free plan users) - for Free users it's loosing sharable knowledge content feature what seems to be main point of Confluence

- it should act for Free plan users as described meaning that it should enable all users on a Free plan (up to 10 members) to get access to the Space it 

[David Burkhardt]

@Mia Tamm _Simpleasyty_ I've read this thread and do not find a solution for how all users can access a space that I've created on a free plan. Please advise. My peers cannot access the space, even if I create a new space and do not click the grant all users access.

[Mia Tamm _Simpleasyty_]

Hi @David Burkhardt — totally get the frustration.

On the Free plan, space permissions aren’t really configurable and the “Grant all users…” button can behave inconsistently (as @Daniel Grzymala noted above). The only reliable way to make a space visible to all teammates is on Standard/Premium, where you can explicitly give the confluence-users group at least View access.

Quick checks on Free (just in case): make sure peers are licensed users on the same site, the space isn’t archived, and they try Spaces → All spaces (not just search). If they still can’t see it, it’s a Free-plan limitation.

Some folks report a workaround—temporarily upgrade, set permissions, then downgrade—but it’s not guaranteed.

— Mia Tamm

[David Burkhardt]

As mentioned, I avoided clicking the grant all users... button on a new space that I had created, and they still cannot see the space. My understanding of your reply is that the free plan Confluence doesn't allow sharing with other users, so spaces and pages are for personal use only. The only way to share is to pay, is that correct @Mia Tamm _Simpleasyty_  ?

[Mia Tamm _Simpleasyty_]

Hi @David Burkhardt Sorry for the confusion, and thanks for the follow-up.

Short answer: Free is not meant to be “personal only”—you can collaborate with teammates on the same site. The problem is that on Free the space-permission controls are very limited and the “Grant all users…” button can behave inconsistently, which is why your peers still don’t see the space. If you need a reliable way to make a space visible to everyone (e.g., grant the confluence-users group View), that does require Standard/Premium.

Looping in @Daniel Grzymala since he ran into the same behavior above—Daniel, did you find any step that helped visibility in your case?

— Mia Tamm