Public access - Cloud vs Server
Asked by Andrew Rose:

We are on Confluence Cloud. The number of licenses is getting out of control. Less than 10% of our customers need to comment and edit. But it is banking info and IP, and obviously can't be made available globally.

Have I got the articles below correct?

Cloud - Open viewing (no license) is possible, but it is open Globally.

Server - Open viewing (no license) is possible, but user access can be managed at the Server.

<https://confluence.atlassian.com/confeval/confluence-evaluator-resources/confluence-read-only-access-and-licensing>

<https://support.atlassian.com/confluence-cloud/docs/set-up-public-access/>


Answers:
author: Matt Reiner [K15t]
body: [@Andrew Rose](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/2046847)

Are your users internal or external? If they're external, and you only want to share one space with them, you could consider [Jira Service Desk](https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/service-desk). With it, you can [set one space as accessible](https://support.atlassian.com/jira-service-desk-cloud/docs/link-a-confluence-space-to-your-service-desk/) to your unlimited Service Desk customers.

Another option that comes to mind is my team's app [Scroll Viewport](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1211636/scroll-viewport-for-confluence). With the app, you can choose which spaces to make available to the larger audience, and the experience is much more like a help center. Here's [our help site](https://help.k15t.com/) as an example. One challenege at the moment is that all content in the Scroll Viewport site is publically available, which only works if your users are external. We're currently working on integrating Scroll Viewport with different authentication methods to limit content access. If you want to know whan we release that, you can [sign up for our newsletter](https://www.k15t.com/) to get the latest news.


author: Stefan Ernst _Realigned_io_
body: You can run Server behind the firewall, so you can open anonymous access there. This is the main difference.

If you want people to be able to log in, they need a license, outlined here: <https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/global-permissions-overview-138709.html>

comments: author: Andrew Rose
body: Thanks Stefan

I have viewed that article since posting my question.  
Do you know if Confluence Server is being phased out? I sort of pick that up in various articles.

So, Anonymous Users appears to be the way to go. Next question, if I open my Site to Anonymous Users, can I restrict their access to different Spaces within Site?  
Or does Anonymous User allow them to view anything within the site - if they have the link.  
My two big things here:  
1. Managing licensing

2. Managing access to confidential banking processes  

Thanks for your input  
Hopefully i will be able to get hold, of someone in Support - #NotEasy


author: Stefan Ernst _Realigned_io_
body: Hi Andrew, in Confluence Server, you will be able to grant anonymous access only to certain Confluence spaces. So you will allow anonymous access globally and then for the spaces you want to share, activate Anonymous view access in space settings.

For those spaces that should remain private, make sure anonymous access is disabled. This is a bit tricky in a big organizations as space admins can basically allow anonymous access by themselves.

With regards to Server, yes its being phased out: <https://www.atlassian.com/migration/key-offering-changes?tab=server-dates#important-dates>


Tags: access

cloud

confluence-cloud