How To Make a Voice Channel Private in Discord?

While most social media apps have a chat or video-based communication system, Discord has servers. Servers comprise communities or groups with similar interests. Most servers are small and private, but others are public with a huge following.

Servers are further categorized into channels. Channels can be text or voice-based. They can also be private or public. Public channels are open to all server members, but only specific members or roles can access private channels.

If you have a voice channel whose access you wish to limit to certain members, you can make it private. So, how can go about it?

This post will cover the uses of a private voice channel and the exact steps to change an existing voice channel to a private one.

Overview Private Voice Channels

As noted earlier, channels are sub-sections of a server and can be text or voice-based. Voice channels enable users to screen share, send voice chats, stream and game as a group and hold video conferencing sessions.

While public voice channels are essential to communicating on a server, sometimes the admin needs to make a channel private to discuss specific matters without involving all the server members.

For example, moderating a server with a huge number of members can be challenging. In such cases, an admin should make a private channel to add other admins and discuss moderation matters without involving the group.

Private voice channels aren’t restricted to moderation matters. An admin can make a channel private if they want to have confidential conversations.

Remember, you need to have the “Manage Channel” permission or be the manager, administrator, or owner of the server to make a channel private.

Next, we cover the exact steps to making a voice channel private.

Step-by-Step Guide To Making a Voice Channel Private

There are two ways to make a voice channel private, depending on your platform. These methods are discussed below.

Method #1: Using the Mobile App

Follow the steps below to change a voice channel to private on the Discord mobile app:

1. Launch the Discord app on your mobile device.
2. Tap on the hamburger menu icon in the top left corner.
3. Select your server from the left panel.
4. Scroll to the “Voice Channels” section and long-press the voice channel you want to make private.
5. Select “Edit channel.”
6. Tap on the “Channel Permissions” option.
7. Go to the “Basic View” tab.
8. Slide on the toggle next to “Private Channel.”
9. Tap “Yes“ to confirm.

Method #2: Using the Desktop App or Web Version

Follow the steps below:

1. Open Discord on your PC.
2. Select the server from the left panel.
3. Hover over the voice channel you want to make private.
4. Click the cog wheel icon on the right.
5. Select “Permissions” from the left navigation.
6. Enable the “Private Channel” toggle.
7. Click on the “Save Changes” button at the bottom.

How To Add Members To a Private Channel?

After making a voice channel private, the next step is to learn to add members.

There are two ways to add members to a private voice channel. The first is to select members and add them to the channel manually, and the other is to add specific roles.

Method #1: Using the Discord Mobile App

Follow the steps below:

1. Launch Discord on your mobile device.
2. Tap on the hamburger menu icon in the top left corner.
3. Select the server from the left navigation.
4. Long-press on the specific channel.
5. Select “Edit Channel.”
6. Tap on the “Channel Permissions” option.
7. Navigate to the “Advanced View” tab.
8. Select “Add member” or “Add role.”
9. Use the Search bar to find specific members or roles.
10. Tap on the user or role you wish to add.

Method #2: Using the Desktop App or Web Version

Follow the steps below:

1. Open Discord on your PC.
2. Select the server with the private channel from the left panel.
3. Hover over the particular voice channel.
4. Click on the settings icon on the right.
5. Select “Permissions” from the left navigation.
6. Click the “Add members or roles” button.
7. Use the search bar to find specific roles or members, or scroll through the “Roles” and “Members” categories.
8. Check the box next to the role or user.
9. Click the “Done” button.

Summary

Making a voice channel private takes a few simple moves. You only need to navigate to channel permissions and slide the private channel toggle.

A private channel can serve you in many ways. The first is adding other administrators and having server moderation discussions without involving other members.

You can also make a channel private to have confidential conversations with specific members.