How To Lock a Channel on Discord

Discord organizes its communication system into servers. Users then create channels under particular servers. Channels can be in-text or voice. In in-text channels, users communicate through messages, files, and images, while voice channels use voice, video, and screen shares.

Users sometimes want to lock channels to prevent members from contributing or commenting on the channel. Locking a channel works well if it already has enough information and you want to change it to a read-only channel.

To learn more about locking a channel on Discord, read this article to the end.

Overview of Locking a Channel on Discord

Initially, Discord targeted communities who wanted to create niche groups and share videos, images, or play together. But, after steadily gaining popularity, users now use it to communicate with friends and family. Users can also create various channels to serve different purposes. For example, if you have a server for online gamers, you can create a channel for rules and updates, gaming interactions and opinions, and other gaming purposes.

If you want to prevent members from commenting or leaving messages on a particular channel, it’s best to lock it. You can lock channels like rules and updates, where replying to comments can be time-consuming.

Another reason to lock a channel is when it has accumulated enough information on a particular topic, and you wish to change it to a read-only channel when people can access the already acquired information. For example, if you have a server dedicated to sharing information about 80’s music and have a server like top music icons of this era.

You can lock the channel after gathering all the information instead allowing members to view the information but not leave any comments. Next, we cover the exact steps to locking a Discord channel.

Step-by-Step Guide on Locking a Discord Channel

There are two ways to lock a Discord channel. The first by disabling comments and the other by making it private.

Method #1: By Disabling Comments

Here are steps to lock a Discord channel by disabling comments.

1. Open the Discord app on your computer.
2. On the left-side edge of your screen, click on the server with the channel you want to lock.
3. Right-click on the channel.
4. Click on the “Edit channel” option with a gear icon next to it.
5. Go to “Permissions”.
6. Click on “Advanced permissions”.
7. Scroll down to the “Text channel permissions” section.
8. Click the “X” icon on the options you want to limit. You can do the same under the Voice channel chat permissions for Voice channels.
9. Click on the “Save Changes” button.

Instructions for mobile Discord app users are below.

1. Open the Discord app.
2. On the left-side edge of your screen, click on the server with the channel you want to lock.
3. Long press on the channel and wait for a menu to pop up.
4. Click on the “Edit channel” option with a gear icon next to it.
5. Go to “Channel Permissions”.
6. Click on the “Advanced View” tab.
7. Click on the @everyone option below roles.
8. Scroll down to the “Text channel permissions” section.
9. Click the “X” icon on the options you want to limit. You can do the same under the Voice channel chat permissions for Voice channels.

Some options you can limit to lock an account by limiting comments include Send Messages, Send Messages in Threads, Embed Links, Attach Files, Add Reactions and Use External Stickers. You can restrict members from inviting new members to a locked channel by clicking the X icon on Create Invite.

Method #2: By Making It Private

The other method of locking a Discord channel is by making it private. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Discord app on your computer.
2. On the left-side edge of your screen, open the server with the channel you want to lock.
3. Right-click on the channel.
4. Click on the “Edit channel” option with a gear icon next to it.
5. Go to “Permissions”.
6. Under Channel Permissions, toggle on the “Private Channel” option.

Follow the steps below if you want to do it on a mobile app.

1. Open the Discord app.
2. On the left-side edge of your screen, click on the server with the channel you want to lock.
3. Long press on the channel and wait for a menu to pop up.
4. Click on the “Edit channel” option with a gear icon next to it.
5. Select “Channel Permissions”.
6. Turn on the “Private channel” toggle.
7. Tap on “Yes” to confirm.

Please note that you need “Manage Channels” permission to make a channel private. This permission typically lies with the owner of the server. It’s also essential to remember that private channels are only accessible to specific roles or members.

How To Add Roles in Private Discord Channel

While other channels are visible to all members in a server, a private channel isn’t. Private channels don’t appear on the channel list sidebar. Below are steps to add new members or roles after making a Discord channel private.

1. Open the Discord app on your computer.
2. On the left-side edge of your screen, open the server with the channel you want to lock.
3. Right-click on the channel.
4. Click on the “Edit channel” option with a gear icon next to it.
5. Select “Permissions”.
6. Under Channel Permissions, click “Add members or roles”.
7. Search or manually input the name of the member or role you want to add.
8. Click the “Done” button.

Follow the steps below if you use the Discord app on your mobile device.

1. Open the Discord app.
2. Click on the server with the channel you want to add new roles.
3. Long press on the channel and wait for a menu to pop up.
4. Click on the “Edit channel” option with a gear icon next to it.
5. Select “Channel Permissions”.
6. Click the “Add Members or roles” option.
7. Search or manually select the name of the member or role you want to add.
8. Click “Add” at the top-right corner of the screen.

A private channel is ideal for private conversations between members or discussing roles between specific server members.

Summary

If you want to change a Discord channel into a read-only channel, then locking it is a great option. You can also lock channels that contain enough information and don’t need new contributions.

There are two ways to lock a Discord channel: limiting comments or making the channel private. Private channels are ideal for confidential conversations between specific members. They also don’t appear on the sidebar list where other channels are listed.