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Private Projects and Tasks in Toggl Focus

This guide explains how private projects and tasks work in Toggl Focus, where all new projects and standalone tasks are private by default. It covers who can see private content based on workspace roles, how privacy is inherited by tasks and subtasks, and what non-members see in shared views. It also walks through how to create and update private projects and tasks, manage project members and roles, and notes considerations around imports and capacity calculations.

Overview

By default, all new tasks and projects in Toggl Focus are creates as private. Private projects and tasks restrict visibility to specific project members and workspace admins only.

This matters for teams handling:

  • Confidential initiatives
  • HR matters
  • NDA-protected client work
  • Executive planning

Instead of spinning up separate workspaces, private projects and tasks let you:

  • Protect sensitive project details from unauthorized viewers
  • Keep confidential tasks visible only to assignees and admins
  • Control exactly who can view and participate in specific projects

Feature Availability

Private projects and tasks are available on all paid plans.

Default States

To take the most secure approach, new projects and standalone tasks are set as private by default. Access is restricted until someone explicitly makes it public.

Tasks assigned to a project always inherit the project’s privacy setting. Subtasks always inherit from their parent task.

 
Item Default State
New project Private
New task (no project) Private
New task (with project) Inherits from project
Subtask Inherits from parent task

Workspace Roles and Permissions

Workspace Roles

 
Role Description
Admin Can see and manage all private projects, even those they are not members of. They are effectively treated as super-users for private project content.
Workspace Manager Can see and interact with the project and its tasks according to their project role.
Project manager All users who create a private project are automatically treated as project managers. Can manage project members, change project settings. Every private project must have at least one project manager.
Project Member Can see and interact with the project and its tasks according to their project role.
Guest Limited access.

Non-members cannot see private project details. Tasks belonging to private projects appear in shared views (such as the timeline) in a masked state – the task name, client, and other sensitive fields are hidden and replaced with a lock icon and the label “Private.” Only the date range and estimate duration remain visible.

Private projects

 

Element What Non-Members See
Task name Hidden – replaced with a lock icon and the word “Private”
Client name Hidden (nulled)
Project name Hidden
Assignees Hidden
Date range Visible
Estimate duration Visible

How to Set Up a Private Project

Creating a New Private Project

  1. Click on +Project to open the project modal
  2. In the Privacy section, a segmented control offers two options:
    • Private  – “Only visible to project members”
    • Public  – “Visible to everyone in the workspace”
    • Private is selected by default.
  3. Add users or teams who should have access.
    • The Project User role is assigned by default.
  4. Save the project.

Changing an Existing Project’s Privacy

Screenshot 2026-02-05 at 11.52.26

 

Privacy can be changed after creation from the Project Modal:

  1. Open the Project page
  2. Under the Overview tab, edit the privacy setting
  3. A confirmation dialog appears, you need to confirm or cancel the change

Important: Making a project shared permanently removes admin member assignments from that project. If you later switch it back to private, you will need to manually re-add those admins.

How to Set Up a Private Task

Creating a New Private Task

  1. Open the task creator form.
  2. In the task toolbar, an icon indicates the current privacy state.
  3. Click the icon to open a menu with two options:
    • Private 
    • Shared
  4. When the feature is enabled, Private is selected by default for standalone tasks.
  5. If the task is assigned to a project, the privacy toggle is disabled and the task inherits the project’s privacy.

Changing a Task’s Privacy

Standalone tasks (no project):

  • Use the person/group icon menu in the task toolbar to toggle between Private and Shared.

Tasks assigned to a project:

  • The privacy setting is locked and inherited from the project. To change it, change the project’s privacy, move the task to a different project or remove the project from the task altogether.

Managing Members on Private Projects

Adding Members

Add members and teams from the Project Share Modal. Members can also be invited by email. New members are assigned the Project User role by default.

CleanShot 2026-02-02 at 12.53.49 (1) (1)

Removing Members

Removing a member from a private project triggers a confirmation dialog (except for workspace admins, who skip confirmation). Removing a guest user from any project also triggers confirmation.

If removing the only Project Manager, a prompt requires you to assign a new manager first. Every private project must have at least one project manager.

Changing Member Roles

Members can be promoted to Project Manager or demoted to Project User within the share modal. Changing a workspace admin to a non-admin role is flagged as a downgrade.

Private tasks and capacity

On the Timeline, capacity is still calculated based on task estimates, including private tasks.

Import Considerations

When importing data into Toggl Focus, note that private projects are imported as shared projects. After import, you will need to manually set the desired projects to private and configure their members.