Project Sharing — Public vs Private

BugSmash gives you two ways to control who can access your projects: Public Mode and Private Mode.

This helps you decide whether you want a quick and open feedback workflow or a more controlled and secure review process.

You can manage these settings from:

Open Project → Share settings (Top right corner)

Public Mode

Public mode is the easiest and fastest way to collect feedback.

In this mode:

• Anyone with the review link can open the project.

• Guests can leave comments without creating a BugSmash account (If Allow No - Login guest comments are enabled)

• Clients can quickly start reviewing without extra steps

This is useful when you want feedback fast and don’t want clients to deal with logins or invitations

Private Mode

Private mode gives you more control over who can access the project.

In this mode:

• Only invited users can access the project

• People with just the review link cannot open it

• Guests must be invited from the share settings via email

• No-login guest commenting does not work in Private Mode

Once invited, the user receives an email notification. They can then log into BugSmash and start reviewing the project.

Why Login Is Required In Private Mode

Private Mode is designed for secure and controlled collaboration.

Since anonymous users cannot access private projects, each reviewer must first be invited and then log in using the same email address that received the invitation before they can view the project or submit feedback.

This helps teams:

• Clearly identify who added each comment

• Prevent unknown users from accessing the project

• Maintain better control over project access

In simple terms, Private Mode ensures that only verified and invited users can enter the project and participate in the feedback flow